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Sue Surkes

Sue Surkes

Sue Surkes is The Times of Israel's environment reporter
A charging station for electric cars at Ishpro Center in Modiin, central Israel, August 12, 2026. (Yossi Aloni/FLASH90)
September 10, 2026, 7:31 am
Electric car adoption will continue to slide without urgent support, Energy Ministry says
With plug-in hybrid sales outstripping EVs, officials call on government to incentivize chargers in residential buildings, mandate EV imports, create long-term tax certainty
By Sue Surkes
Energy, Water, and Infrastructure Minister Eli Cohen visits a water desalination facility near Rishon Lezion, central Israel, September 2, 2026. (Yossi Aloni/Flash90)
September 7, 2026, 8:58 pm
Amid desalination woes, energy minister paints rosy picture of Israel’s water resilience
At press conference on ninth day of partial suspension of water processing stations, Eli Cohen says Israel has access to almost twice the drinking water needed for all households
By Sue Surkes
September 7, 2026, 2:44 pm
Daily Briefing Sept. 7 – Desalination plant shutdowns break dam on water security risks
Environmental reporter Sue Surkes on why five desalination plants shut down last week, Israel’s dangerous overreliance on water technology, and innovations in sustainable food science
By Gabriella Jacobs and Sue Surkes
The densely built city of Bnei Brak, near Tel Aviv, July 15, 2026. (Miriam Alster/FLASH90)
September 7, 2026, 12:35 am
Industrial zones, built up areas, suffer most heat in Gush Dan — study
Heat in built-up parts of Tel Aviv metropolis, including Bnei Brak, Ramat Gan, Bat Yam, Holon, and Rehovot, can be 4°C higher than in open areas in summer, 9°C higher in winter
By Sue Surkes
This satellite image released by the European Space Agency shows oil leaking from a grounded UK-sanctioned tanker near Qibliyah Island off the coast of Oman, July 28, 2026. (European Space Agency via AP)
September 6, 2026, 4:03 pm
Israeli scientists develop huge sponge to mop up and ‘eat’ oil spills
Ben-Gurion University scientists say plant material, enriched with nutrients to attract oil-guzzling bacteria, can absorb 100 times its own mass in crude oil or fuel in just seconds
By Sue Surkes
Energy, Water and Infrastructure Minister Eli Cohen visits a water desalination facility near Rishon Lezion, September 2, 2026. (Yossi Aloni/Flash90)
September 4, 2026, 3:07 pm
Officials seek to calm public after algicides dumped at sea in bid to reopen desalination plants
Fishing temporarily banned ‘as a precaution’ but water supplies back to normal, says Energy Ministry, after initially unannounced push to get rid of rogue algae crippling stations
By Sue Surkes
General view of a water desalination facility near Rishon LeZion, central Israel, September 2, 2026. (Yossi Aloni/Flash90)
September 2, 2026, 4:41 pm
New masterplan needed after desalination shutdown underlines dangers of tech overreliance
Experts blast complacency, urge reviving wells, natural buffers, and conservation to lower the 80% of drinking water that comes from coastal facilities
By Sue Surkes
Emergency drinking water tanks are placed near the Old City of Jerusalem amid nationwide water supply disruptions, September 1, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
September 1, 2026, 2:41 pm
Desalination plants again shut down due to murky seawater; farmers sound the alarm
With 5 of 6 facilities again closed amid rising seawater turbidity, local authorities told to curb water use; farmers lament risk to crops, livestock
By Sue Surkes and ToI Staff
Children arrive for their first day of the new school year at Shahar Eshkol Elementary School in the Eshkol Regional Council, near the Gaza border in southern Israel, September 1, 2026. (Tsafrir Abayov/Flash90)
September 1, 2026, 1:04 pm
2.6 million students return to school amid teacher shortages, systemic challenges
Over 20,000 students head to class in Gaza border towns, 9% more than in Sept. 2023; police secure Jerusalem school targeted by Haredi extremists; East Jerusalem private schools strike over restrictions on teachers from West Bank
By ToI Staff, Sue Surkes, Nurit Yohanan and Diana Bletter
Aerial view of the Orot Rabin power station in Hadera, on January 29, 2026. (Yossi Zamir/FLASH90)
September 1, 2026, 6:00 am
Israel’s global warming emissions down in 2025 but still cost economy $11 billion, ministry finds
Environmental Protection Ministry’s pollution data shows positive trends in many areas thanks to continuing demise of coal, drop in wildfires after end of rocket fire from Lebanon
By Sue Surkes
View of the Sorek Desalination Plant, on November 22, 2018. (Isaac Harari/Flash90)
August 31, 2026, 2:16 pm
Almost all of Israel’s desalination plants shut due to weather; source denies cyberattack
5 of 6 facilities temporarily close due to ‘severe turbidity,’ prompting limits for agriculture use; incident follows recent hack on US water systems, allegedly by Iran
By ToI Staff and Sue Surkes
View of an empty classroom at a school in Tel Aviv, during a strike, on May 4, 2025. Yehoshua Yosef/Flash90)
August 26, 2026, 6:04 am
Israeli teachers lag behind OECD peers in literacy, numeracy, problem-solving — study
Shoresh Institution highlights educators’ low skill level in science, technology, engineering, math; recommends teachers first get a degree in a discipline, then a teaching qualification
By Sue Surkes
A teacher educates children at the al-Mawasi camp in the Gaza Children's Village. (Courtesy)
August 25, 2026, 10:04 am
Israeli aid group announces new medical clinic for 10,000 children in Gaza refugee camp
Set to open September 1 in crowded Al-Mawasi, facility will provide vaccinations, consultations, rehab for children with disabilities, education services with anti-hate messaging
By Sue Surkes and ToI Staff
Israeli soldiers look around the destruction caused by Hamas terrorists in Kibbutz Kfar Aza, near the Israeli-Gaza border, in southern Israel, October 15, 2023. (Oren Ben Hakoon/Flash90)
August 19, 2026, 2:20 pm
KKL-JNF to invest NIS 284 million in development of southern Israel
Sum includes NIS 110m for Gaza border area; NIS 15 million will help fund Kibbutz Kfar Aza memorial plan, where Heritage Ministry tried to condition a grant on approval and veto power
By Sue Surkes
A Bengalese finch father (right) teaches his son how to sing. (Kazuo Okanoya)
August 18, 2026, 2:29 pm
Finches use the same rulebook as human babies to pick up language, study finds
International team that includes Israeli cognitive scientist adds Bengalese finches to humpback whales in search for animals that learn using same mathematical principles as we do
By Sue Surkes
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