Tuesday, 18 October 2011

FEATURED STORY

As Israel watches, Gilad Shalit comes home

Images showing Gilad Shalit arriving back in Israel prompted tears of joy in many corners of Israel, but families of the victims of the Palestinian terrorists who were freed as part of the swap with Hamas said the deal marked a victory for the terrorists. Read more »

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looks on as freed Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit is embraced by his father, Noam, at Israel's Tel Nef Air Force base shortly after Shalit's release from more than five years of captivity, Oct. 18, 2011.

EDITORS' PICKS

Murderers' row: Who are the terrorists being freed?

By all accounts, Israel is paying a steep price for Gilad Shalit's freedom. JTA looks at some of the more notorious terrorists being released as part of the prisoner exchange.

The rabbinic debate over prisoner exchanges

A position enunciated by a leading Sephardic rabbi provides a rationale for the swap deal that freed Gilad Shalit, writes Rabbi David Ellenson, president of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, in a JTA Op-Ed.

BREAKING NEWS

Gilad Shalit was reunited with his family shortly after crossing into Israel from Egypt after his release earlier in the day by his captors in Gaza, ending five years and four months in captivity.
Iran's foreign minister accused the United States of Nazi-style propaganda for charging that Tehran was linked to an assassination plot on American soil.
Robert Downey Jr. at an awards ceremony in Los Angeles urged the Hollywood community to forgive Mel Gibson for his recent troubles.
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Susan Sarandon is under fire after referring to the German-born Pope Benedict XVI as a Nazi.
A Jewish day school in Washington has purchased a second campus for $3.9 million.
Habonim Dror Camp Moshava has received $1.36 million from the State of Maryland to permanently set aside 230 acres for conservation.