Tagged: Israel

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said a Sunday attack that left 16 Egyptian soldiers dead should serve as "wake-up call for the Egyptians to take matters into their own hands."

The New York Times reports this was the deadliest attack on Egyptian soldiers in recent memory and highlights both the tension between Egypt's new government and Israel and the fact that the attack means an escalation of violence in the Sinai Peninsula.

Over the past year, Israelis have taken to the streets to protest the country's high cost of living. They've also directed their anger at a small group of business moguls who have used their close ties to government officials to gain control of large chunks of the Israeli economy.

Now, the Israeli edition of Forbes magazine has shed light on a surprising category of Israelis who have quietly also climbed to the top rung of society: multimillionaire rabbis.

Reports that Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said at a fundraiser in Jerusalem that "culture" is among the reasons Israel's economy is much stronger than those in "areas managed by the Palestinian Authority" have led a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to accuse Romney of racism.