Georgia

Prince of Tbilisi: Teen Izhak Ashpiz’s impressively stoic rise to Israeli judo royalty

Winning gold here as an outsider is akin to winning a high-stakes poker game in a room full of professionals who own the house. Ashpiz didn’t just win; he dictated the terms of the engagement.

|ByITAY GODER
IN THE world rankings published this week, 18-year-old Israeli judoka Izhak Ashpiz was No. 14 in the under-60 kg weight class.
People pay their last respects to Georgia's late Patriarch Ilia II as his remains are carried to the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Tbilisi, Georgia March 18, 2026.

Ilia II, Georgian Church leader who shaped national identity, dies at 93

Ilia II, the Catholicos-Patriarch of Georgia, died on Tuesday after being hospitalized, said senior cleric Metropolitan Shio.

|ByREUTERS
BEITAR JERUSALEM defender Luka Gadrani has brought stability to the club’s back line since arriving from Kairat Almaty, helping the capital side stay in title contention.

Luka Gadrani anchors Beitar Jerusalem’s defense as championship race heats up

Gadrani, who joined the club at the end of September from Kairat Almaty, has been one of the standouts as the Georgian national team defender provides a cool, calm, and collected presence.

|ByJOSHUA HALICKMAN
Prof. John Loike (R), Prof Alan Kadish (M), and Rabbi Tzvi Flaum (L)

New study examines debate over brain-dead pregnant women kept on ventilator

The case that occurred in 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia, has just been described in “The halachic heartbeat at the edge of life: navigating maternal brain death and fetal life.”

|ByJUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH

Looking back at George Washington’s 1790 letter, the root of American religious freedom

George Washington to the Jews of Newport, Rhode Island, and the presentation of him by artist Arthur Szyk.

FEBRUARY 14, 2026ByDAVID GEFFEN
Declaration of Independence of the United States. New Canaan, 1950. Featuring George Washington.

Trump declines to take sides between Vance, Rubio in 2028 successor debate

Trump also endorsed a MAGA prosecutor in Georgia against Marjorie Taylor Greene, stepped back from a major media merger fight between Netflix and Warner Bros, and faced Human Rights Watch criticism.

FEBRUARY 5, 2026ByREUTERS
US President Donald Trump (C), Vice President JD Vance (L) and Secretary of State Marco Rubio (R) pictured in the White House, November 6, 2025; illustrative.

FBI searches Atlanta election office, chasing Trump 2020 vote fraud claims

This comes a week after Trump said at the World Economic Forum in Davos that people will be prosecuted for what they did in the 2020 election, which he again falsely claimed was "rigged."

JANUARY 28, 2026ByREUTERS, JERUSALEM POST STAFF
ILLUSTRATIVE: A member of the FBI removes items from a home in Dearborn, Michigan, on October 31, 2025.

Emory University removes Iranian official Larijani's daughter from medical faculty - report

Dr. Fatemeh Ardeshir-Larijani was previously listed on the Emory University School of Medicine's website as an assistant professor in the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology.

JANUARY 25, 2026ByTZVI JASPER
Protesters demand the removal of Fatemeh Ardeshir-Larijani from Emory's medical department, January 2026.

Winter Storm Fern grounds thousands of US flights, strains power grids nationwide

A sweeping winter storm has canceled thousands of US flights, triggered emergency declarations in multiple states, and placed severe strain on power grids as extreme cold spreads nationwide.

JANUARY 25, 2026ByREUTERS, TOBIAS HOLCMAN
A de-icing crew works during winter storm Fern on a Southwest Airlines flight at Nashville International Airport in Nashville, Tennessee, US, January 24, 2026.

Georgia rep. calls for removal of Iranian official's daughter from Emory university faculty

Dr. Ardeshir-Larijani is the daughter of Ali Larijani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council. The Emory University School of Medicine lists her as an assistant professor.

JANUARY 23, 2026ByTZVI JASPER
IRAN'S SUPREME National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani speaks after meeting with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, in Beirut, Lebanon August 13, 2025.

Georgia as an emerging destination for Israeli investors

JANUARY 21, 2026ByHANNAH SCHWARTZ
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Rafael delivers Spyder air defense system to Georgia - report

The system can engage multiple threats simultaneously up to 80 kilometers away in all weather conditions.

DECEMBER 12, 2025ByDEAN SHMUEL ELMAS/GLOBES/TNS
Rafael's Spyder air defense system

UAE cargo plane lands at Ben-Gurion Airport carrying US military trucks - KAN

The plane with the trucks and military equipment later returned to the UAE after a short stopover in Georgia, the report added.

NOVEMBER 30, 2025ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
An Antonov 124-100 Ruslan with ramp down; note the forward-tilted fuselage and retracted front landing gear, facilitating cargo loading; illustrative.

$980 million Mega Millions jackpot paid out to lucky Georgia-based winner

The player selected the numbers 1, 8, 11, 12, 57 and the number 7 gold Mega Ball.

NOVEMBER 24, 2025ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
"Mega Millions" lottery tickets are pictured on a counter as the prize passed $1.1 billion ahead of the January 10 multi-state lottery drawing at a ticket sales shop in Manhattan in New York City, U.S., January 10, 2023.