Josh Kaplan

2 months ago | thejc.com | Josh Kaplan

You can tell a lot by a city by how it treats its public spaces. Sometimes, especially in Europe, streets of a city are pristine, frozen in amber from when the place was at its finest, a tribute to a long-crumbled empire. Israel, despite having thousands of years of history, is mostly a new place and as a result, its major cities feel alive, humming with creativity, constantly changing. And nowhere is this truer than Haifa.

2 months ago | thejc.com | Josh Kaplan

The vocal minority of people who hate Israel for existing aren’t interested in these vignettes of coexistence But the vocal minority of people who hate Israel for existing aren’t interested in these vignettes of peace and harmony, in the same way that they’re not interested in the tens of thousands of Jewish, Muslim, Christian and Druze Israelis who have been forced to uproot their lives after Hezbollah’s massive rocket salvos from southern Lebanon.

Mar 13, 2025 | thejc.com | Josh Kaplan

"We're working hard with Israel. We're working hard to see if we can solve the problem," he said. "I just saw 10 hostages, and they were treated really badly. They were really treated badly. I was shocked." Trump said that he asked the freed hostages if Palestinians showed them any kindness. "Did they ever like say, 'Don't worry. You'll be OK?' 'We'll give you a little wink, or give you like an extra slice of bread or something?’" "Everybody said, 'All of these people said zero,’" Trump said.

Mar 2, 2025 | thejc.com | Josh Kaplan

Shlomo Mansour, 86, the oldest hostage held by Hamas prior to his murder in captivity, will be laid to rest on Sunday at Kibbutz Kissufim, where he lived for more than 70 years. The Mansour family has invited Israelis to stand by the side of the road with Israeli flags as the funeral procession passes. Mansour was abducted from his home during the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack on southern Israel.

Feb 23, 2025 | thejc.com | Josh Kaplan

Israeli Air Force fighter jets flew low over Beirut on Sunday afternoon as the funeral of slain Hezbollah terrorist leader Hassan Nasrallah got underway, Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed in a statement. "The IAF jets that are now circling in the skies over Beirut over Hassan Nasrallah’s funeral are conveying a clear message: Whoever threatens to destroy Israel and attacks Israel—that will be their end," Katz said.