Israel’s national library sees Arabic site traffic boom
By Ilan Ben Zion — January 10, 2022
(AP) — The Jerusalem library is home to an extensive collection of Islamic and Arabic texts, including thousands of rare books and manuscripts in Arabic, Persian and Turkish ranging from the 9th to the 20th centuries.
Christmas in Bethlehem: Gilded treasures, but few tourists
By Ilan Ben Zion — November 19, 2021
BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) — Ahead of Christmas, a towering wooden screen — once blackened with soot from millions of worshippers’ candles — is being restored to its gilded glory in the Church of the Nativity, built at the site where many believe Jesus was born. But few visitors are expected to see it during […]
Woman now thought to be Afghanistan’s last Jew flees country
By Ilan Ben Zion and Llazar Semini — October 29, 2021
JERUSALEM (AP) — For years, Zebulon Simentov branded himself as the “last Jew of Afghanistan,” the sole remnant of a centuries-old community. He charged reporters for interviews and held court in Kabul’s only remaining synagogue. He left the country last month for Istanbul after the Taliban seized power. Now it appears he was not the […]
Jewish prayers held discreetly at contested Jerusalem shrine
By Ilan Ben Zion — August 25, 2021
(RNS) — “What is happening is a blatant and dangerous violation of the status quo,” said Sheikh Omar al-Kiswani, a top official with the Waqf, the Jordanian-backed Islamic trust that administers the site. “The Israeli police must stop providing protection to extremists.”
