JERUSALEM, May 21 (Reuters) – Champions Maccabi Tel Aviv have reasserted their dominance of Israeli soccer but media reports on Tuesday suggested they might have to continue their revival without coach Oscar Garcia.

The country’s wealthiest club lost 3-0 to Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv in the final fixture of the season on Monday, but it mattered little as Maccabi had clinched a record 20th league title a month ago.

JERUSALEM, May 16 (Reuters) – Thousands of ultra-Orthodox
Jews protested in Jerusalem on Thursday against plans to enlist
men from their community into the military, a proposal supported
by the secular majority pushing for a more equal share of the
burden on Israeli society.

A sea of black coats – the traditional attire of
ultra-Orthodox men – engulfed Jerusalem streets near the city’s
military draft bureau where the crowd heard rabbis warn that
army service would irreparably harm their way of life.

JERUSALEM, May 4 (Reuters) – - Maccabi Netanya were relegated to the Israeli second division on Saturday after a 3-0 home loss to Hapoel Beersheba in one of the most tense finishes at the bottom of the league in years.

Three head-to-head clashes all involved clubs who could have been relegated but on the day, Netanya were the only team to lose.

JERUSALEM, May 3 (Reuters) – Israeli police will be out in force on Saturday for a tense relegation clash between Arab club Bnei Sakhnin and Beitar Jerusalem, bastion of the political far right, as the fiercest battle to avoid the drop reaches its climax.

Over 600 officers, including riot police, with surveillance balloons and a helicopter – unusual in the Jewish state where soccer violence is uncommon – will control proceedings around Sakhnin’s Doha Stadium where both teams face the threat of going down.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel’s top legal adviser on Wednesday rebuffed criticism of authorities for asking travelers entering the Jewish state to show border officers their emails, saying the checks were lawful.

Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein’s written legal opinion was given in response to a query by the Association of Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) which first questioned the practice last year.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Maccabi Tel Aviv became Israeli champions for a record 20th time on Monday when they sealed the Premier League title with a 2-0 win over hosts Hapoel Ramat Hasharon.

The result gave Tel Aviv an unassailable 13-point lead over second-placed Maccabi Haifa with four matches remaining and will see them play in the preliminary rounds of next season’s Champions League.

JERUSALEM, April 22 (Reuters) – Maccabi Tel Aviv became Israeli champions for a record 20th time on Monday when they sealed the Premier League title with a 2-0 win over hosts Hapoel Ramat Hasharon.

The result gave Tel Aviv an unassailable 13-point lead over second-placed Maccabi Haifa with four matches remaining and will see them play in the preliminary rounds of next season’s Champions League.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel’s cabinet on Sunday approved an open skies agreement that aims to boost airline traffic to and from Europe, defying a strike by workers at El Al (ELAL.TA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and two smaller airlines who fear for their jobs due to higher competition from foreign airlines.

Supporters of the open skies deal – which will go into effect next April – say its relaxation of restrictions and quotas on flights between Israel and European Union countries will increase competition and help Israel’s economy.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – A senior Israeli minister called on world powers on Sunday to set a deadline for military action of weeks to persuade Iran to halt its nuclear enrichment program after talks ended without progress at the weekend.

World powers and Iran failed again to end a deadlock in the decade-old dispute over Tehran’s nuclear program during the meeting in Kazakhstan, prolonging a standoff that could yet spiral into a new Middle East war.