Latest news with #OldCity
CBS News
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Mac's Tavern owned by "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" stars to close
Mac's Tavern bar owned by "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" stars will close after 15 years Mac's Tavern bar owned by "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" stars will close after 15 years Mac's Tavern bar owned by "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" stars will close after 15 years It's the end of an era for Mac's Tavern on Market Street in Old City. The bar is closing after more than 15 years in business. The iconic tavern announced on Facebook and Instagram that it was closing its doors for good. "To all those who have loved, enjoyed, and frequented this establishment for over 15 years, we thank you," the bar said. "When we opened this bar, our hope was to create a welcoming, down-to-earth place where people could gather, share stories, laugh a little too loudly and enjoy a drink or two among friends." Co-owned by "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" stars Rob McElhenney and Kaitlin Olson, the bar is a top tourist destination for visitors to Old City and a beloved spot for fans of the TV comedy. "From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for your support over the years. We're proud of what we built, but even more proud of what you made it into," the bar said. "Though Mac's Tavern may be closing, our gratitude to you will remain open – and overflowing – forever." The bar's 226 Market Street location has long been a home for bars and taverns like Skinner's Tavern and Anthony's Tavern. It is unclear when Mac's Tavern will officially close. Written by: Sydney-Leigh Brockington
The National
5 days ago
- General
- The National
US-Israel-Iran war
Images of the American and Israeli flags are projected on to the walls of Jerusalem's Old City on Sunday. AP
Arab News
7 days ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Discrimination in East Jerusalem
Periods of war are exceptional times, during which it is perfectly understandable that governments would place certain restrictions on the population. When there is danger to the public from rockets, drones or flying debris, officials understandably prefer that large gatherings be avoided. In normal emergencies, in normal countries, this is reasonable and acceptable. But in the case of East Jerusalem, the Israeli government takes the issue to an exaggerated, maximum degree. It uses the war situation to punish the Palestinian population, using the justification that they are simply trying to protect them. The Old City of Jerusalem is home to more than 30,000 Palestinians. It is also the main shopping area for much of the city as a whole, the population of which numbers over 300,000. The Old City is also home to the cradles of world religions. While the Israeli-initiated war on Iran has raged this past week, Israel unilaterally closed the Old City of Jerusalem to everyone except those who can prove, with ID cards, that they have a local address. In addition, Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre were closed by Israeli security orders. On the surface, these might appear to be prudent and natural actions to protect the population. But when one realizes that other large shopping areas, such as West Jerusalem's Mahane Yehuda, have remained open, it becomes clear that this is a punitive measure and not a genuine effort to protect people. Regarding the holy places, again, if the policy had been applied to all religious sites, one would concede that it was a decision reached out of caution. But when it becomes clear that the Buraq Wall, also known as the Western Wall, which is a holy site to Jews, has remained open during this period (although few people have visited it), one concludes that the closure of the other sites is not a simple security decision but an unacceptable, prejudicial action based on ethnic and religious discrimination. Furthermore, Israeli security officials, using the war-like atmosphere as an excuse, have been bullying local muezzins (those who call Muslims to prayer) to considerably reduce the volume of their daily calls or even stop them altogether. The Palestinians of Jerusalem have no one to defend them. Daoud Kuttab In addition to the closures of public spaces and the discrimination against the entire Old City of Jerusalem, Israeli police have been acting in a discriminatory manner against pedestrians. Anyone spotted filming with a cellphone is harassed and ordered to surrender the device so that officers can check whether they have liked any social media posts that might be deemed to indicate support for Iran. In one incident, a Palestinian child and a young man were shot in the A-Tur neighborhood of the city. The Palestinians of Jerusalem, unfortunately, have no one to defend them, or to plead with the government that collects their taxes to provide compensation for the merchants of the Old City for the large losses they are suffering, or at least to suspend the Arnona municipal property tax. Since the sudden death of Faisal Al-Husseini in Kuwait in 2001, Palestinians in Jerusalem have not been able to organize and unite under any single leader or spokesperson, and so there has been no representative or leadership in a position to lobby for them. Of course, the Israelis make the most of this leaderless reality for Palestinians in the city, and fight tooth and nail against any nationalist efforts in Jerusalem. Orient House, which served as the headquarters for Al-Husseini and his Arab Studies Society, was seized by Israeli authorities following his death and has remained closed for more than two decades as a result of a recurring six-month order. Other local organizations, including the chamber of commerce and the tourism union, are also regularly closed. Cultural centers that attempt to organize any public events that Israeli authorities deem to have nationalistic undertones or to be connected, directly or indirectly, with the Palestinian government in Ramallah are automatically shut down by order of the Israeli police. Even events such as a children's puppet festival at the Hakawati Theatre, a screening of a documentary about the drug problem East Jerusalemites are facing, or a graduation ceremony sponsored by a local club, have been suddenly canceled on the orders of the Israeli army, using nearly century-old British Mandate emergency regulations. Despite all of these concerted Israeli efforts, and following a public protest in the form of a statement issued by a nongovernmental organization in Jerusalem criticizing the closure of the holy sites, on Thursday the Israelis finally permitted Muslim worshippers to attend prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque, albeit a mere 450 of them. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre also finally reopened on Tuesday to a handful of local Christian worshippers, and the Catholic Latin Patriarch was allowed to hold religious ceremonies, though they were attended by only a few. While the situation has slowly, through the force of public pressure, started to return somewhat to normal, there is no doubt that the ways in which Israeli authorities deal with the Palestinians of Jerusalem and the Jewish Israelis of Jerusalem are totally different.
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Yahoo
BBC Arabic apologises for claiming Jews spit on Christians in ‘holiday ritual'
The BBC has been forced to apologise following claims by its Arabic service that Jews spit on Christians in a 'holiday ritual'. Claims were made in a video released by the corporation alongside an article titled 'Sukkot: Spitting and Assault on Christians and Harassment of Muslims on the Jewish Holiday'. In the video, released in October 2023, a caption claimed observant Jews celebrated their religious holiday, Sukkot, in Israel by spitting on Christians. After the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis (Camera) complained to the corporation, it was quickly corrected to say: 'Some observant Jews consider spitting on Christians a holiday ritual.' However, it took 19 months for a formal response to be issued. In the correspondence, the BBC said: 'We apologise for the errors and thank you for your patience in waiting for this reply/confirmation of corrections that were made in October 2023.' The footage sparked outrage after ultra-Orthodox Jews could be seen spitting on the ground alongside a procession of foreign Christian worshippers carrying a wooden cross in Jerusalem. The spitting scene, captured by a reporter at Israel's Haaretz newspaper, showed a group of foreign pilgrims beginning their procession through the limestone labyrinth of the Old City. They were retracing the steps along the route they believe Jesus took before his crucifixion, raising a giant wooden cross. However, ultra-Orthodox Jews in dark suits and broad-brimmed black hats squeezed past the pilgrims through narrow alleyways, their ritual palm fronds for the week-long Jewish holiday of Sukkot in hand. At least seven ultra-Orthodox Jews spit on the ground beside the Christian tour group. A second BBC Arabic article, published on the 22nd anniversary of the 9/11 and titled 'The story of suicide bombers throughout history: from the fanatical Jews, through Assassins, to the Jihadists', linked 'fanatical Jews' to the US terror attacks. The article describes the Sicarii, a militant Jewish group active during Roman occupation, as the earliest example of suicide attackers. It then went on to link them to modern jihadist tactics. The Sicarii seized Jerusalem with other forces during the Jewish revolt in 70AD, before retreating to Masada. However, Camera complained and argued that while the Sicarii did commit mass suicide at Masada, they did not carry out suicide attacks. Camera wrote in a complaint to the BBC: 'Since the Sicarii's attacks weren't suicidal, and their mass suicide was not an attack, they do not fit a narrative about suicide attacks at all. Yet, they are the only ones labelled 'fanatics' and 'extremists' in the entire article.' The BBC executive complaints unit agreed the original article contained a 'material inaccuracy' after Camera made further complaints. In a ruling issued on April 10, they said: 'Although the Sicarii may have preferred suicide to capture, there was no evidence of their using suicide as a means of an attack.' The headline was changed to 'The Story of Suicide Bombers Throughout History: From Assassins to Jihadists'. Lord Carlile, the government's former independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, condemned the piece at the time and warned the BBC about publishing 'deliberate and sometimes even casual anti-Semitism'. He told The Telegraph after the apology was issued: 'I'm glad they have apologised.' Camera also said there were six other complaints about BBC Arabic content that have not been resolved as of June 9. A Camera spokesman said: 'Having demonstrated such ignorance in covering Jewish affairs, it seems that part of the problem lies not only with the Arabic service's inability to respond to complaints on time, but also in the lack of training its staff undergo upon hiring.' Last month, the BBC announced it would appoint an independent figure to investigate its Arabic channel over repeated allegations of anti-Semitism exposed by The Telegraph. The Telegraph has previously revealed a number of BBC Arabic's contributors have posted anti-Jewish sentiments and expressed their apparent support for Hamas, both before and after the Oct 7 attacks. Speaking to Times Radio in May, Dr Samir Shah, the chairman of the BBC, said: 'The Arabic service, we are looking at it, we've been examining it. I think this whole business of how we've covered Israel-Gaza is a proper thing to examine thoroughly, which is why we're going to identify... we're going to get hold of an independent figure to look at our coverage.' A BBC spokesman said: 'The BBC takes all complaints seriously and we have a robust process in place. 'We are committed to investigating complaints and responding to complainants swiftly. We apologise for the delay in these particular cases. 'When mistakes are made, we acknowledge them and make the appropriate corrections.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
14-06-2025
- Telegraph
BBC Arabic apologises for claiming Jews spit on Christians in ‘holiday ritual'
The BBC has been forced to apologise following claims by its Arabic service that Jews spit on Christians in a 'holiday ritual'. Claims were made in a video released by the corporation alongside an article titled 'Sukkot: Spitting and Assault on Christians and Harassment of Muslims on the Jewish Holiday'. In the video, released in October 2023, a caption claimed observant Jews celebrated their religious holiday, Sukkot, in Israel by spitting on Christians. After the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis (Camera) complained to the BBC, the caption was corrected to say: 'Some observant Jews consider spitting on Christians a holiday ritual.' However, Camera had to wait 19 months for a written apology to be issued. In the correspondence, the BBC said: 'We apologise for the errors and thank you for your patience in waiting for this reply/confirmation of corrections that were made in October 2023.' The footage sparked outrage after ultra-Orthodox Jews could be seen spitting on the ground alongside a procession of foreign Christian worshippers carrying a wooden cross in Jerusalem. The spitting scene, captured by a reporter at Israel's Haaretz newspaper, showed a group of foreign pilgrims beginning their procession through the limestone labyrinth of the Old City. They were retracing the steps along the route they believe Jesus took before his crucifixion, raising a giant wooden cross. However, ultra-Orthodox Jews in dark suits and broad-brimmed black hats squeezed past the pilgrims through narrow alleyways, their ritual palm fronds for the week-long Jewish holiday of Sukkot in hand. At least seven ultra-Orthodox Jews spit on the ground beside the Christian tour group. A second BBC Arabic article, published on the 22nd anniversary of the 9/11 and titled 'The story of suicide bombers throughout history: from the fanatical Jews, through Assassins, to the Jihadists', linked 'fanatical Jews' to the US terror attacks. The article describes the Sicarii, a militant Jewish group active during Roman occupation, as the earliest example of suicide attackers. It then went on to link them to modern jihadist tactics. The Sicarii seized Jerusalem with other forces during the Jewish revolt in 70AD, before retreating to Masada. However, Camera complained and argued that while the Sicarii did commit mass suicide at Masada, they did not carry out suicide attacks. Camera wrote in a complaint to the BBC: 'Since the Sicarii's attacks weren't suicidal, and their mass suicide was not an attack, they do not fit a narrative about suicide attacks at all. Yet, they are the only ones labelled 'fanatics' and 'extremists' in the entire article.' 'Material inaccuracy' The BBC executive complaints unit agreed the original article contained a 'material inaccuracy' after Camera made further complaints. In a ruling issued on April 10, they said: 'Although the Sicarii may have preferred suicide to capture, there was no evidence of their using suicide as a means of an attack.' The headline was changed to 'The Story of Suicide Bombers Throughout History: From Assassins to Jihadists'. Lord Carlile, the government's former independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, condemned the piece at the time and warned the BBC about publishing 'deliberate and sometimes even casual anti-Semitism'. He told The Telegraph after the apology was issued: 'I'm glad they have apologised.' Camera also said there were six other complaints about BBC Arabic content that have not been resolved as of June 9. A Camera spokesman said: 'Having demonstrated such ignorance in covering Jewish affairs, it seems that part of the problem lies not only with the Arabic service's inability to respond to complaints on time, but also in the lack of training its staff undergo upon hiring.' Last month, the BBC announced it would appoint an independent figure to investigate its Arabic channel over repeated allegations of anti-Semitism exposed by The Telegraph. The Telegraph has previously revealed a number of BBC Arabic's contributors have posted anti-Jewish sentiments and expressed their apparent support for Hamas, both before and after the Oct 7 attacks. Speaking to Times Radio in May, Dr Samir Shah, the chairman of the BBC, said: ' The Arabic service, we are looking at it, we've been examining it. I think this whole business of how we've covered Israel-Gaza is a proper thing to examine thoroughly, which is why we're going to identify... we're going to get hold of an independent figure to look at our coverage.'
