May 6, 2009 / Mideast

Israel's population rises to 7.4 million

Israel's population rose to 7,411,000. The population rose from 7,282,000 last Independence Day, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported. Israel's population stood at 806,000 at its founding. More...

'Swine flu' name kosher in Israel

The swine flu will not take any new names in Israel despite the unease of a health official from a fervently religious party. More...

Israeli economy is 'coping well'

RECESSION

Israel is "coping relatively well" with the current economic crisis, the Bank of Israel governor said. Stanley Fisher presented the Bank of Israel's Annual Report for 2008 to President Shimon Peres. More...

Jewish doctor gets Saudi prize

MEDICINE MAN…

Saudi Arabia awarded a top medical prize to an American Jewish oncologist. Ronald Levy, who heads the oncology division at the Stanford University Medical School, won the 2009 King Faisal International Prize for medicine. More...

Abbas denies 'Jewish' Israel

Mahmoud Abbas said he would not recognize Israel as a Jewish state. "A Jewish state, what is that supposed to mean?" the Palestinian Authority president asked in a speech in Ramallah. More...

Ministers split over Syria

Ehud Barak and Avigdor Lieberman have publicly split over Israeli peace negotiations with Syria. Lieberman, Israel's foreign minister, said on Israel Radio that he would be willing to negotiate with Syria as long as there are no preconditions. More...

Barak calls drill 'disturbing'

Turkey and Syria began a joint military exercise that Israel's defense minister called "disturbing." During the threeday drill, the Syrian and Turkish armies crossed the countries' shared border for exercises. More...