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

A picture taken on November 18, 2019, shows Israeli activists (L to R) Esti Shushan, Rachel Morgerstern, Hila Hassan Lefkowitz, Esther Twersky, and Yael Elimelech of the Nivcharot foundation, an Ultra-Orthodox feminist group, during a work meeting in the central city of Kfar Saba, on November 18, 2019. (MENAHEM KAHANA / AFP)

November 21, 2019, 9:04 am

Israeli ultra-Orthodox women launch anti-domestic violence campaign

Daring to break social taboos, religious activists initiate awareness campaign to counter violence against them within their own community

By Alexandra Vardi

A performance takes place during the Acre in Hebrew Fringe Theater Festival in Acre on October 16, 2019. (EMMANUEL DUNAND / AFP)

October 17, 2019, 5:51 pm

Israel celebrates 40 years of alternative theater in Acre festival

Annual gathering in mixed Jewish-Arab city during Sukkot has become an institution for the ‘fringe’ performance art scene

By Alexandra Vardi

Gadeer Kamal Mreeh speaks in front of an Arab-Israeli crowd during an election campaign meeting in the northern Israeli city of Shfar'am on August 26, 2019 (AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP)

September 10, 2019, 9:16 am

After breaking political glass ceiling, Druze woman aims for equality

Blue and White’s Gadeer Kamal Mreeh hopes to win reelection on September 17 with the blessing of the spiritual head of her community in Israel

By Alexandra Vardi

IDF reveals what it says is the longest cross-border attack tunnel dug by Hezbollah from Lebanon into Israel, May 29, 2019. (Israel Defense Forces)

August 27, 2019, 4:16 pm

With virtual reality, Israeli soldiers train in simulated terror tunnels

IDF using computer technology to teach troops to navigate Hamas and Hezbollah underground passages

By Alexandra Vardi

A picture taken on May 9, 2019 shows the Reisfeld House, a building built in 1935 by architect Pinchas Bijonsky. (Photo by THOMAS COEX / AFP)

July 15, 2019, 6:30 pm

As Bauhaus marks 100 years, Tel Aviv’s iconic ‘White City’ stands tall

Bustling beach city has emerged as a leading repository of the 20th century German minimalist architectural movement that spread when the Nazis exiled its disciples

By Alexandra Vardi