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Alexandra Vardi
Hundreds of people demonstrate during a swearing-in ceremony of the new Knesset in Jerusalem on April 6, 2021, against a group of newly elected lawmakers who oppose gay rights (Emmanuel DUNAND / AFP)
April 6, 2021, 10:09 pm
As anti-gay MKs sworn in, activists fear ‘step backwards’ on LGBT rights
Calling for ‘a normal people in our land,’ Religious Zionism’s Noam faction opposes recognition of gay and lesbian couples with children as families
By Nir Kafri and Alexandra Vardi
Bar Pinto (R) and Gilad Levi, two red-bearded 29-year-olds and founders of 'Beard for All' ('Ptor Zakan' in Hebrew), a campaign challenging Israeli military rules compelling all male troops to be cleanshaven, in Tel Aviv on February 7, 2021 (Emmanuel DUNAND / AFP)
March 3, 2021, 11:52 am
IDF faces battle over bearded soldiers who choose not to shave
Two campaigners have taken up the cause on behalf of thousands of secular servicemen who want the same rights to facial hair granted to religious troops
By Alexandra Vardi
A young couple share a picnic in front of a view of the Tel Aviv skyline, in the Israeli coastal city, on February 15, 2021 (Emmanuel DUNAND / AFP)
February 18, 2021, 9:07 am
A decade after social protests, affordable housing remains a dream for many
Prices have continued to rise since the summer of 2011, which saw dozens join tent encampments across Israel to protest the high cost of living
By Alexandra Vardi
Holocaust survivor Motti Liber, 88, receives care from a volunteer on the premises of the Yad Ezer L'Haver foundation, which supports survivors of the Holocaust by providing them food as well as medical and psychological assistance, in Haifa on January 24, 2021. (Photo by Emmanuel DUNAND / AFP)
January 27, 2021, 8:38 am
Foundation boosts its aid to isolated Holocaust survivors in shadow of pandemic
Haifa-based Yad Ezer L’Haver has been providing food and assistance to survivors for 20 years, is now operating a call center that connects with 3,500 people every day
By Alexandra Vardi
A mountain gazelle is pictured on a hill next to a forest in a suburb of Jerusalem on January 7, 2021. (MENAHEM KAHANA / AFP)
January 15, 2021, 2:37 pm
Israel studies new forest home for endangered mountain gazelle
Wildlife experts hope population numbers can recover in woodlands like the Forest of the Martyrs west of Jerusalem
By Alexandra Vardi
Israeli Naama Goldman-Shwartz, 45, walks with a guest at Juha's Guesthouse in the northern coastal village of Jisr az-Zarqa on September 30, 2020 (Jack Guez/AFP)
October 4, 2020, 5:31 pm
Israelis seek to save embattled Jewish-Arab hostel amid pandemic
Celebrities, anonymous donors raise funds for Juha’s Guesthouse in Jisr az-Zarqa, hailed as a model of coexistence, as travel ban keeps tourists away
By Alexandra Vardi
Harel Barak (R) and his husband Yakir Kanneli (L) pose for a picture with an empty stroller at a park in Tel Aviv, on August 14, 2020. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP)
August 19, 2020, 3:47 pm
Israeli same-sex couples seek end to surrogacy discrimination
Justice Minister Avi Nissenkorn says government intends to pass a surrogacy bill by the end of the year in order to comply with recent Supreme Court ruling
By Alexandra Vardi
Members of the Palestinian Authority security forces patrolling in the village of Beitunia in the central West Bank on April 6, 2020. (Credit: Wafa)
July 14, 2020, 8:17 am
Palestinians said arrested after backing annexation in Israeli TV report
Journalist behind hidden camera footage of West Bank residents saying they want to become Israeli claims at least 6 of them detained by PA security; Ramallah denies it
By Alexandra Vardi and Michael Blum
Professor Hadas Mamane holds a tube containing ethanol made from waste at her laboratory in Tel Aviv University on July 8, 2020. (JACK GUEZ/AFP)
July 9, 2020, 4:32 pm
To battle virus, Israeli scientists use waste to make hand sanitizer
Prof. Hadas Mamane touts breakthrough of using low dose ozone gas to make ethanol, which she says lowers production costs and is ‘good for the environment’
By Alexandra Vardi
Israeli sit at a cafe in the West Bank settlement of Ariel, on July 1, 2020. (Jack Guez/AFP)
July 1, 2020, 10:59 pm
Annexation? Residents of Ariel settlement prefer that old time status quo
Move would have no impact, say shrugging locals of major West Bank settlement, as start date for planned Israeli extension of sovereignty passes
By Alexandra Vardi and Michel Blum
Protesters rally against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu outside his residence in Jerusalem on May 24, 2020. (Emmanuel DUNAND / AFP)
May 24, 2020, 10:17 pm
Netanyahu trial divides Israelis, as rival rallies held in Jerusalem
With some traveling from afar, premier’s supporters claim he is ‘pure and clean,’ while others decry ‘death of democracy’ and claim leader must resign
By Alexandra Vardi and Jonah Mandel
IDF tanks near houses in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre on July 22, 1982. (Yossi Zamir/Flash90)
May 24, 2020, 6:49 pm
Some of Israel’s Lebanon veterans still searching for help
Former soldier seeking to set up support center for comrades suffering from PTSD caused during 18-year conflict on other side of northern border
By Alexandra Vardi
Israeli director Amos Gitai attends a photocall for the film "A Letter to a Friend in Gaza," presented out of competition on September 3, 2018, during the 75th Venice Film Festival, at Venice Lido. (AFP Photo/Alberto Pizzoli)
May 21, 2020, 7:54 am
Israeli director Amos Gitai calls for ecological rethink after coronavirus
Award-winning filmmaker says that a time of crisis is ‘the moment to try to find some perspective,’ warns ‘greed and advanced capitalism’ are destroying planet
By Alexandra Vardi
Haredi Orthodox men praying at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, January 12, 2017. (Chris McGrath/Getty Images/via JTA)
February 25, 2020, 8:19 pm
Many ultra-Orthodox who lose their faith must live a ‘double life’
‘The price to pay is so high’ for openly rejecting religious life that many lapsed Haredim prefer to live a lie within their community, says head of support group
By Alexandra Vardi
Illustrative photo of a woman begging in Jerusalem. (Nati Shohat/Flash90)
February 23, 2020, 5:08 pm
Israel’s ‘most vulnerable’ citizens hit by political stalemate
The lack of a 2020 state budget is causing fear and cutbacks at organizations, educational institutions and social services that help the country’s weakest, experts say
By Alexandra Vardi and Ben Simon
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