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By Kostis Konstantinou • January 3, 2026

Jerusalem, 3 January, 2026 (TPS-IL) — A complex legal case involving claims of organized criminal activity is unfolding in Cyprus.

The case involves 36-year-old Israeli national Daniel Yehonatan Zarvg, who is seeking international protection in Cyprus, claiming he is being maliciously persecuted by the authorities of Israel for crimes he says he did not commit.

Zarvg, also known as “Andros Gracia,” came to public attention last summer after using a forged Spanish travel document while staying in the Turkish-occupied north of the island. He was arrested there in August and handed over to the authorities of the Republic of Cyprus on 13 August. Israeli authorities are seeking him in connection with a deadly ambush on 24 March 2024, in which nine shots were fired at Shaul Peretz, resulting in the death of Peretz’s wife, Almog.

This week, Zarvg filed an appeal before the International Protection Court through his lawyer, Christos Gavrielides, challenging a 5 December decision by the Cypriot Asylum Service rejecting his asylum application. He claims he fled Israel because his life was in serious danger from criminal groups and alleges “systematic persecution by Israeli authorities, including degrading treatment,” which he says caused him severe health problems.

Zarvg is currently held in police-controlled detention in Cyprus. His lawyers have previously secured a certiorari ruling overturning his arrest warrant and are seeking his release and the termination of extradition proceedings, while the Cyprus Legal Service has filed an appeal against the decision.

By Pesach Benson • January 1, 2026

Jerusalem, 1 January, 2026 (TPS-IL) — The Sachs family from Sydney, Australia –- father Trevor, mother Dalit, and daughter Ashira –- became Israel’s first immigrants in 2026 after arriving at ben gurion Airport on Thursday as trends point to rising Jewish immigration from Western countries.

On landing, the three were greeted by Minister of Immigration and Absorption Ofir Sofer, received Israeli ID cards, and officially began their new life in the country. The family’s son, Levi Sachs, had already immigrated ahead of them and enlisted in the Israel Defense Forces.

“The Sachs family’s choice to immigrate to Israel, especially when their son is serving in the IDF, is gratifying and encouraging. We are working for the aliyah [immigration] of Australian Jews to Israel and have already taken and will continue to take significant steps to that end,” Sofer said.

The arrival of the Sachs family adds to the nearly 22,000 immigrants who moved to Israel in 2025.

According to Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), approximately 21,900 people moved to Israel last year, representing only about one-third of the previous year’s total.

Signaling a shift in the global pattern of Jewish migration, Russian and Ukrainian immigration fell by half, while arrivals from the United States, United Kingdom, and France increased. Overall, North American aliyah rose by 13 percent, and French immigration jumped 45 percent, the CBS reported.

The change is generally attributed to rising Western antisemitism.

“The changing composition of new immigrants shows how Israel continues to attract Jews from around the world,” a ministry spokesperson said.

As of December 31, 2025, Israel’s population stood at 10,178,000.

By Pesach Benson • January 1, 2026

Jerusalem, 1 January, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Israel welcomed its first baby of 2026 just one minute after midnight as Magen David Adom medics across the country dealt with a busy New Year’s Eve marred by traffic accidents, alcohol-related injuries, and violent incidents overnight.

Hadassah Mount Scopus Hospital in Jerusalem said a baby boy was born at 12:01 a.m. to Shira-Leah and Uri Rozman of Dolev.

“I had a good birth with a wonderful midwifery team, thank God, everything went great and it was a lovely experience,” Shira-Leah said.

A teacher by profession, she added, “I wish all of us a happy birthday, may the Jewish people continue to grow and multiply.”

The baby weighed 2,884 grams and was delivered with the assistance of midwives Odelia Mendelovich and Rachel Znwirt. He is the couple’s fifth child, with his siblings waiting for him at home.

While Israelis rang in 2026, Magen David Adom medics remained on high alert throughout the night. According to MDA, medics and paramedics provided medical care to hundreds of people.

A total of 51 people were injured in road accidents, including three in moderate condition and 48 lightly injured. Eleven people were hurt in violent incidents, including one man, about 30 years old, who was seriously injured in a stabbing near a forest. Four others were moderately injured and six sustained light injuries.

MDA teams also treated approximately 50 teenagers and adults for alcohol-related injuries.

During the first night of the new year, MDA ambulances and mobile intensive care units transported 21 women in labor to hospitals across Israel.

“As every year, MDA volunteers and employees were deployed across the country and provided life-saving medical care to partygoers on New Year’s Eve. Unfortunately, even at the beginning of the new year, the teams in the field were called to handle traffic accidents and alcohol-related incidents,” said MDA Director Eli Bin. “I wish everyone a happy, healthy and safe New Year.”

By Pesach Benson • December 31, 2025

Jerusalem, 31 December, 2025 (TPS-IL) — Israel’s Ministry of Tourism reported on Wednesday that 2025 was a year of cautious recovery and unprecedented crisis management, as the country welcomed a slow return of foreign tourists. The year will close with approximately 1.3 million incoming visitors, even as officials work to stabilize the hotel industry, which supported thousands of Israeli evacuees, the ministry said.

“The easing of travel warnings and the restoration of airline routes have allowed tourism to begin returning,” Tourism Minister Haim Katz said. “At the same time, we had a responsibility to protect citizens and maintain the tourism industry during an extremely challenging period. Both missions were critical for the future of Israeli tourism.”

The United States remained Israel’s largest source market, sending roughly 400,000 visitors, followed by France with 159,000 and the United Kingdom with 95,000. Other notable source countries included Russia, Germany, Ukraine, Canada, and Romania. Domestic tourism also continued to be a stabilizing force, with more than 13 million overnight stays by Israelis recorded in hotels nationwide by the end of the third quarter.

Survey data collected by the ministry in the first half of 2025 showed evolving visitor patterns since the war. The average stay fell to 9.3 nights from 11.4 in 2024, while spending by independent travelers increased to $1,622 per trip, excluding flights. Visiting friends and relatives remained the leading motivation, cited by 45% of tourists, followed by vacation at 14% and business at 12%. Satisfaction levels were high, with 88% reporting a positive experience and 83% saying they would recommend Israel as a destination.

Alongside the gradual return of foreign tourists, the ministry led a historic effort to house residents from conflict zones.

More than 125,000 evacuees were accommodated in roughly 670 hotels and guesthouses across the country, a program that concluded in July 2025. The state paid hotels approximately NIS 7 billion ($2.19 billion) for hosting evacuees, which officials said preserved thousands of jobs and prevented widespread collapse in the hospitality sector. An additional NIS 175 million ($54.8 million) was allocated to renovate properties affected by the prolonged stays and return them to normal tourist operations.

“This operation was not only a humanitarian necessity. It also saved the hotel industry and safeguarded livelihoods across Israel,” Katz said.

“For a long period, tourism was not about vacations at all,” Katz added. “It was about keeping people safe, maintaining jobs, and ensuring that the industry would still exist when recovery begins.”

Ministry Director General Michael Yitzhakov said the dual mission of welcoming tourists while managing a large-scale evacuation required careful coordination. “We had to operate simultaneously in crisis management and long-term planning,” he said. “This meant strengthening infrastructure, supporting entrepreneurs, and maintaining our marketing presence abroad, even when tourist arrivals were limited.”

Looking ahead to 2026, the ministry plans to build on early signs of recovery by expanding hotel supply, investing in public tourism infrastructure, and integrating artificial intelligence into marketing and operations. Grants totaling over 180 million shekels were approved this year for the construction of 2,050 new hotel rooms, and another 174 million shekels were allocated to infrastructure projects proposed by local authorities.

In parallel, the ministry approved more than NIS 180 million ($56 million) in grants for entrepreneurs to build over 2,000 new hotel rooms and allocated about NIS 174 million ($54.5 million) for public tourism infrastructure projects submitted by local authorities.

Looking ahead to 2026, officials say the ministry will expand its use of artificial intelligence in marketing and operations and establish a tourism innovation community linking startups with industry players. “After a period in which tourism helped carry the home front,” Yitzhakov said, “our task now is to restore international confidence and turn resilience into renewed growth.”

“Tourism played a critical role both in protecting citizens and supporting the economy,” Yitzhakov said. “Now our focus is on restoring international confidence and turning resilience into renewed growth.”

By Pesach Benson • December 29, 2025

Jerusalem, 29 December, 2025 (TPS-IL) — Israel is launching a government initiative to promote technological entrepreneurship within Druze and Circassian society by establishing two innovation centers in the north, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced on Monday.

The NIS 15 million ($4.69 million) initiative aims to support technological entrepreneurship and connect aspiring entrepreneurs to high-tech companies, academia, investors, and professional mentors.

“Establishing the innovation centers in the north is a strategic government initiative to reduce gaps and create true equality of opportunity in Israeli society. We are giving young people from the Druze and Circassian community an entry ticket to the world of technology and high-tech entrepreneurship, recognizing that integrating diverse populations is an essential need for the continued growth of the Israeli high-tech industry,” said Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology Gila Gamliel.

“The centers will be a powerful tool for social and personal mobility, and will connect the enormous potential in the area to the national ecosystem for the benefit of both our economy and social resilience,” she added.

Israel’s Druze community of 152,000 traces its ancestry back to the biblical figure Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses. They speak Arabic but are not Muslim. In Israel, the Druze serve in senior positions in public and military life.

Israel’s Circassian population is approximately 5,000. Originally from the northern Caucasus, the Circassians were expelled from the area during the Russo-Circassian War. The Ottoman Empire eventually resettled them in the Galilee. Although the Circassians are Muslim, they serve in the Israeli military.

“Establishing innovation centers in Druze society is an investment that generates double value: technological advancement alongside social reinforcement,” said Yasser Jedban, Chairman of the Druze and Circassian Heads of Authorities Forum. “We are creating an infrastructure for collaborations with industry, so that the men and women of the community can lead startups, develop groundbreaking solutions, and bring our culture to the high-tech world.”

The two centers, Northtech Galil and Beyond-D Innovations, will operate with a cumulative investment of NIS 15 million ($4.69 million). Northtech Galil will focus on supporting early-stage startups and entrepreneurs from the Galilee and Golan Heights, connecting them with professionals, universities, and experienced mentors. Beyond-D Innovations, based in the Carmel region, will provide support throughout all stages of entrepreneurship, from initial idea development to early investment rounds, including a dedicated fund for Druze entrepreneurs.

The centers will join 13 existing innovation hubs in Israel’s periphery, which span from Kiryat Shmona to Eilat. Together, these initiatives form a national effort to strengthen local entrepreneurship, expand human capital, and foster economic growth by integrating additional populations into israel’s high-tech ecosystem.

“Promoting demographic and geographic diversity in high-tech is a central and long-term goal of the Innovation Authority,” said Dr. Alon Stopel, Chairman of the Innovation Authority. “The establishment of innovation centers for the Druze and Circassian society is a significant milestone in expanding opportunities for these communities, and will enable the creation of an infrastructure for the development of technological entrepreneurship, professional training at the highest level, and a connection to the Israeli high-tech ecosystem.”

By Kostis Konstantinou • December 28, 2025

Jerusalem, 28 December, 2025 (TPS-IL) — Israel has formally presented and delivered the first Iron Beam high-energy laser interception system to the IDF today, bringing laser air defense from experimentation into operational reality, the Ministry of Defence has announced.

The handover ceremony took place at the headquarters of Rafael Advanced Defense Systems in northern Israel.

The Iron Βεαμ was produced following years of development led by the Israeli Ministry of Defence’s R&D directorate in partnership with Elbit Systems and other defense industries, including SCD and Shafir Systems.

Designed to intercept rockets, mortars, and unmanned aerial vehicles at short ranges, Iron Beam will be integrated into the Israeli Air Force as an additional layer of defence alongside Israel’s existing systems: Iron Dome, David’s Sling and Arrow.

According to defence officials, the system has already proven itself in an extensive series of trials, successfully intercepting multiple types of aerial threat under realistic operational conditions.

What sets Iron Beam apart, however, is its combination of a powerful laser source with advanced electro-optical tracking and adaptive optics.

This, according to the MoD, enables high-precision engagements at negligible marginal cost, about the price of electricity instead of thousands of dollars per launch, dramatically improving the cost-effectiveness balance against mass rocket and drone attacks.

Defence Minister Israel Katz described today’s delivery as a ‘historic milestone’, stating that, for the first time anywhere, a high-power laser system has reached full operational maturity.

He also said that Iron Beam ‘fundamentally alters the threat calculus’ and sends a clear strategic message to Israel’s adversaries that any attempt to overwhelm its defences will come at a high cost.

By Ehud Amiton/TPS • December 25, 2025

Jerusalem, 25 December, 2025 (TPS-IL) — Israel said it killed a senior operative linked to Iran’s Quds Force in southern Lebanon on Thursday.

The Israel Defense Forces confirmed eliminating Hussein Mahmoud Marshad al-Jawhari in the area of Ansariyah, near Tyre.

Al-Jawhari “had been involved in recent years in planning and advancing terror attacks against the State of Israel from Syria and Lebanon,” the IDF said.

“Unit 840, the operational unit of the Quds Force, headed by Asghar Baqeri and his deputy Mohammad Reza Ansari, is the unit responsible for directing and overseeing Iranian terror activity against the State of Israel,” the IDF added.

The Quds Force is an elite, specialized branch of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). It conducts covert, intelligence, military, and proxy operations outside Iran. It is best known for training, funding, and arming Iran’s proxy terror groups like Hamas, Hezbollah, Iraqi Shi’ite militias, and the Houthis in Yemen.

Under the terms of the ceasefire that went into effect on November 27, 2024, Hezbollah is required to withdraw its armed forces from southern Lebanon and is prohibited from operating south of the Litani River.

By TPS-IL • December 25, 2025

Jerusalem, 25 December, 2025 (TPS-IL) — For decades, some of the most intimate records of German Jewish life before the Holocaust have been preserved quietly in archives in Jerusalem, far from the classrooms where history is first encountered. That is now set to change.

As part of its 70th anniversary, the Leo Baeck Institute in Jerusalem told TPS-IL it has launched Entangled Lives, a new digital platform that will, for the first time, integrate rare archival materials held in Israel into history curricula in schools in both Israel and Germany. Unlike existing educational initiatives that focus primarily on the Holocaust, including those led by Yad Vashem, the project reaches further back in time, offering students direct engagement with original documents and personal life stories.

By exposing high school students to the human texture of German Jewish history beyond the Shoah, as the Holocaust is referred to in Hebrew, the platform aims to deepen historical understanding and contribute to confronting contemporary antisemitism, the institute said.

“Historical learning, understanding historical processes, and how this affects individual lives helps to think in perspective, to learn understanding complexity, to question ‘fake news,’ and to overcome black and white thinking,” Dr. Irene Aue-Ben-David, CEO of the Leo Baeck Institute in Jerusalem, told TPS-IL.

Entangled Lives draws on the institute’s extensive archive of photographs, letters, documents, and personal collections originating in Germany and preserved in Jerusalem. The platform presents life stories of individuals born in Germany whose paths diverged during the upheavals of the 20th century, including migration to Mandatory Palestine and to other parts of the world. Students using the platform will be able to work directly with authentic historical sources, exploring the lived experience behind major historical developments, Aue-Ben-David said.

“This goes far beyond the Shoah. The aim and task is indeed to research this history in a wider sense. In an age of information overload and growing challenges in teaching history, it is profoundly important to connect students with primary sources… in that sense, it might help the fight against antisemitism,” Aue-Ben-David said.

The first two stories featured on the platform focus on sharply different trajectories. One is Aliza Nagidi, a Berlin-born photographer and committed Zionist whose work documented both community life and her own personal journey. The second is Willy Lewison, a young German who enlisted in the German army during World War I, fought on the Eastern Front, and was taken prisoner in Russia.

The project is a joint effort between the Leo Baeck Institute and the German-Israeli Textbook Commission (DISBK). Founded in 2010, the commission examines how Israel and Germany are represented in each other’s textbooks and offers recommendations aimed at improving accuracy, balance, and historical sensitivity. The Leo Baeck Institute, established 70 years ago with centers in Jerusalem, London, and New York, is a leading research institution dedicated to the history and culture of German-speaking Jewry.

Tal Kopel, a history teacher from Jerusalem, told TPS-IL that “the initiative will give us, as history teachers, the ability to connect students to real people rather than to abstract headings like ‘German Jews.’ For a generation that shapes its worldview through visual tools, this is an important step in linking Jewish history to the present.”

Aue-Ben-David said an initial version of the platform is already accessible for teachers, with a full release expected in the coming months.

By Kostis Konstantinou • December 23, 2025

Jerusalem, 23 December, 2025 (TPS-IL) — The leaders of Cyprus, Greece and Israel expressed their determination to continue and deepen cooperation despite geopolitical challenges at the trilateral summit in Jerusalem on Monday.

They also reaffirmed their commitment to promoting the Great Sea Interconnector (GSI) project and linking it to the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC).

At a joint press conference following the summit, Prime Minister Netanyahu noted that it was the tenth, not the first, stressing that he had told the two leaders privately that he considered it the most important of all that proceeded.

‘The last time the three of us met,’ he said, ‘was shortly before the 7 October massacre, when terror reminded us once again that stability in this region is never guaranteed, and that strength, clarity and cooperation are not just options, but imperatives.’

He added that ‘the Middle East and the Eastern Mediterranean are being tested by aggression, terrorism, and instability’. ‘Our cooperation,’ he continued, ‘also offers new opportunities for prosperity. We are working together and have discussed cooperation in many areas in detail, such as energy, technology and connectivity, as well as security, which guarantees all of these.’

‘It is true,’ he stressed, ‘that all our countries were conquered in the past by a series of empires. But with courage and sacrifice, we achieved our independence in modern times.’

‘To those who imagine they can restore their empires and dominate our countries again, I say: forget it. It will not happen. Do not even think about it. We are determined and capable of defending ourselves, and our cooperation further strengthens that capability.

The President of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides emphasized that all three countries had reaffirmed during the Summit what he called the strategic nature of their alliance, which is founded on shared values, mutual interests, and converging aspirations. This alliance is guided by the vision of regional integration, prosperity, stability, and security, he added.

Regarding the situation in Gaza, the Cypriot President stated an “unwaveringly support President Trump’s 20-point plan and the full implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2803”.

He highlighted Cyprus’s role in the humanitarian sector through the Amalthea project, emphasizing that Nicosia continues to support the provision of humanitarian aid, security and rapid recovery efforts through the six-point plan first presented at the Sharm El Sheikh Peace Summit in October.

He also highlighted the added value of the 3+1 format with the United States, emphasising that it strengthens our trilateral cooperation and aligns it with the broader regional architecture. ‘This format has proven to be a reliable model for promoting stability, connectivity, and strategic cooperation, and we are determined to further strengthen it.’, the President underlined.

In closing, he emphatically stressed: ‘Our presence here today is not only symbolic, but also substantive. The partnership between Cyprus, Greece and Israel is of strategic importance not only to our three countries, but also to our region and beyond. Together, we will continue to work in a spirit of trust and cooperation to strengthen stability, security and prosperity throughout the Eastern Mediterranean.’

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that all three countries are committed to strengthening regional security through diplomatic and stabilising efforts. ‘We discussed the broader developments in the region,’ added Kyriakos Mitsotakis. political solution.’ Despite the geopolitical challenges, this cooperation has stood the test of time and proven resilient, Mr. Mitsotakis underlined . Adding that It continues to contribute significantly to stability and security in the Eastern Mediterranean and creates an important window of opportunity for shaping a regional security architecture that can bring peace and prosperity.