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The State Department confirmed the sale in September The United States sold the ambassador’s residence in Israel for more than $67 million in July, according to an official Israeli record of the sale that shines new light on a transaction that has been shrouded in secrecy. The State Department confirmed the sale in September but refused to identify the buyer or disclose the sale price of the sprawling beachfront compound in the upscale Tel Aviv suburb of Herzliya. On Tuesday, it said the sale had been "open and transparent." The Israeli business newspaper Globes has identified the buyer as the...

China's Ambassador to Israel, Du Wei, was found dead inside his official residence Sunday morning, a spokeswoman for Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs told CNN. At this stage, the 57-year-old's death is not being treated as suspicious. Police are outside the ambassador's residence in Herzliya -- to the north of Tel Aviv -- as part of standard procedure, the spokeswoman said. His death comes less than a week after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Jerusalem, openly criticizing China's actions during the coronavirus pandemic, as well as calling on Israeli leaders to stop signing major infrastructure and communications deals...

This week England’s Former Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks gave a speech described by the media as doom and gloom at a conference in Herzliya. He admitted a belief that the BDS movement had succeeded in making the State of Israel a “divisive factor” in Jewish life and claimed that, as a result, supporting Israel was “almost impossible” for European Jews. It was an astonishingly defeatist speech, which is troubling enough. But most disturbing was the false dichotomy he presented to European Jews. In his own troubling words he said, “Jews have been faced with a choice: live in Europe...

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad spoke boldly while making numerous demands, most previously stated and one original demand that went further than any previous demand. He referenced frequently the recent new threat of unilaterally declaring a Palestinian State in all of the West Bank, Gaza, and much of Jerusalem including all of the Temple Mount and surrounding neighborhoods. He reiterated the demand that Israel pull all IDF forces and other security personnel completely from the West Bank and remove all settlements and neighborhoods existing east of the Green Line before any negotiations could be resumed. Prime Minister Fayyad further spoke...

-Excerpt- "I believe that the Vilayat Faqih in Iran is a theocratic totalitarian movement for which destruction of Israel and the United States is not a policy but its very essence. It defines itself in that way. Saying that is should change its policy with respect to destroying Israel and the United States is like trying to persuade Hitler away from anti-Semitism. It was his essence and it is the essence of the Iranian Vilayat Faqih. I believe that the nuclear weapons program of Iran is an important part of this and as Bernard said the recent up tick in...

Dec. 16, 2004 20:08 | Updated Dec. 16, 2004 22:45 Sharon: '2005 will be a year of great opportunity' By JPOST.COM STAFFPM Sharon speaking at Herzilya conference Photo: AP Speaking at the Herzliya conference Thursday night, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said 2005 "will be a year of great opportunity" for Israel, the Palestinians and the Middle East. "Last year I presented here the outlines of the disengagement plan before outlining the goals of the state," Sharon said. "I've outlined the way in which I'll move the future of Israel as a democratic and Jewish state. "Israel will be the heart...

Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat said Saturday that he has no doubt that the comments on unilateral disengagement, made by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon at the Herzliya Conference on Thursday, were coordinated with Washington, the Itim News Agency reported. Speaking to reporters in Ramallah, Arafat said that in light of what he knows of the U.S. position regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, he believes that prior to the speech, the "disengagement plan" was presented to United States National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, as well as other senior administration officials. The White House on Friday said that it was "very pleased" with...

Dec. 19, 2003 The Herzliya Initiative The gist of the insta-analysis of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's long-anticipated speech was: nothing new. Don't believe it. This was a landmark speech that changes the incentive structure of our virtual peace process and could define events for decades to come. Many are dismissing the speech because Sharon did not announce the immediate dismantling of a single settlement. This was a ludicrous expectation to begin with. Israel, and even more so the United States, remain committed to the road map, which requires – first of all – an end to Palestinian terror, and...

Dec. 18, 2003 Full text of Sharon's speech at Herzliya Conference Good Evening, I congratulate the organizers of this conference for the important and interesting gathering which you have held here. During the past three days, you have been discussing Israel's situation. I, as Prime Minister, am responsible for the planning and implementation of the measures which will shape Israel's character during the next few years. We are all entrusted with the duty of shaping the face of the Jewish and democratic State of Israel – a state where there is an equal distribution of the burden, as well as...

Dec. 19, 2003B> Palestinian reactions to Sharon's speech By JOSEPH NASRSharon's remarks at the Herzlyia Conference were disappointing to optimistic and skeptical observers alike, wrote the Jerusalem-based Palestinian daily al-Quds on Friday. In his long-awaited speech at the Herzlyia Conference, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was expected to specify what are his "unilateral steps" of disengagement, wrote al-Quds. In the build-up to the speech, the circulation of the expression "unilateral" was meant to threaten the Palestinians, in that if they don't rush to the negotiating table – according to Israel's terms – they will not get "painful Israeli concessions", published al-Quds'...

Dec. 19, 2003 White House 'very pleased' with Sharon's speech By ASSOCIATED PRESS President George W. Bush's spokesman reacted warmly Friday to much of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's latest prescription for dealing with the Palestinians. "We were very pleased with the overall speech," spokesman Scott McClellan said in an apparent effort to offset published accounts that focused on his admonition Thursday that Sharon should not try to impose a settlement without negotiations. In an exchange Friday with reporters the White House spokesman offered no criticism of Sharon's speech Thursday in Herzliya in which the prime minister offered to remove...

An Israeli girl was killed, and nine other people injured in a suicide bombing attack on a Herzliya restaurant Tuesday evening. The girl was brought to hospital in a very serious condition. Another person was seriously injured in the attack, while a third sustained moderate injuries. The other six were lightly wounded. A loud explosion was heard around 7.40 P.M. (local time) in this coastal city, located north of Tel Aviv. The Palestinian bomber apparently was deterred from entering the restaurant, and instead blew himself up outside. Police attributed the limited damage and the relatively small amount of wounded and...