Amy Spiro

Amy Spiro is a reporter and writer with The Times of Israel.

A flag of Israel and an American flag are displayed on a table during a meeting between Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett at the Pentagon in Washington, Wednesday, Aug. 25, 2021. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

September 23, 2021, 11:03 pm

Israeli leaders, US Jews laud House approval of $1 billion for Iron Dome

AIPAC says 420-9 vote ‘repudiates efforts by those in Congress who are pursuing a dangerous agenda to undermine the US-Israel relationship’

By Amy Spiro and Jacob Magid

Medical staff wear safety gear as they work in the coronavirus ward of Shaare Zedek hospital in Jerusalem on September 23, 2021. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

September 23, 2021, 8:51 pm

Government COVID experts push strategy rethink as infections spread

Panel tells lawmakers to limit indoor gatherings to 300 people, also urges them to start making policies based on total case numbers and not just hospitalization rates

By Amy Spiro

This image released by Apple TV+ shows Niv Sultan as Tamar Rabinyan in a scene from 'Tehran.' (Apple TV+ via AP)

September 23, 2021, 7:54 pm

Israeli thriller ‘Tehran’ nominated for International Emmy Award

Separately, Roy Nik tapped for a best actor nomination for his role in Israeli series ‘Normali’

By Amy Spiro

Defense Minister Benny Gantz arrives at a cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, on September 5, 2021. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

September 23, 2021, 6:47 pm

Amid Iron Dome funding spat, Gantz says US remains Israel’s closest ally

Defense minister reiterates ‘shared values’ that underpin the relationship, days after Democrats shoot down earmark to reload anti-missile batteries

By Amy Spiro

A rare Meissen armorial tea and coffee service made for the Morosini family, dated 1731. (Sotheby's)

September 23, 2021, 10:34 am

18th-century porcelain seized by Nazis smashes expectations in auction sale

Hoard of Dresden antiques, restored to descendants of couple who escaped Germany, sells for over $13 milllion at Sotheby’s in New York

By Amy Spiro and TOI staff

Kids at a school in Tel Aviv hold up antigen coronavirus testing kits, on August 30, 2021. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

September 19, 2021, 5:53 pm

Teachers’ unions blast COVID-19 test requirement for schoolkids after Sukkot

Union chief says it isn’t educators’ job to be ‘coronavirus inspectors,’ threatens High Court appeal over new measure; only half of teachers in Israel have had vaccine booster

By Amy Spiro and TOI staff

President Isaac Herzog (left), Prime Minister Naftali Bennett (center) and Defense Minister Benny Gantz attend a memorial ceremony for the fallen Israeli soldiers of the 1973 Yom Kippur War, at the National Hall of Remembrance, Mount Herzl, Jerusalem, September 19, 2021. (Ohad Zwigenberg/POOL)

September 19, 2021, 4:02 pm

Israeli leaders mark 48 years of lessons learned since Yom Kippur War

Bennett draws a parallel between the surprise 1973 attack and the Gilboa Prison jailbreak: ‘Whenever there is a mishap, we [must] correct what needs to be corrected’

By Amy Spiro

A father tests his daughter with a COVID-19 rapid antigen home kit test ahead of the first day of school, in Jerusalem on August 31, 2021. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

September 19, 2021, 1:41 pm

Schoolkids required to show negative COVID antigen test after Sukkot vacation

Teachers vow to fight measure; serious coronavirus cases hit a high not seen for almost three weeks, 10 days after the end of Rosh Hashanah

By Amy Spiro

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati arrives to attend a cabinet meeting at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Sept. 13, 2021. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

September 19, 2021, 11:00 am

Lebanese PM says oil shipments from Iran were ‘not approved’ by his government

Najib Mikati, who took office earlier this month, says dozens of trucks of Iranian diesel organized by Iranian proxy group Hezbollah violate Lebanon’s sovereignty

By Amy Spiro and TOI staff

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Public Security Minister Omer Barlev meet with police commanders about the efforts to track down six Palestinian security prisoners who escaped from prison in northern Israel, September 11, 2021. (Israel Police)

September 19, 2021, 9:03 am

Bennett hails ‘sophisticated’ operation that caught last 2 Palestinian fugitives

Public security minister says the work of the government commission of inquiry into the incident will begin soon to ‘seal the remaining holes’

By Amy Spiro and Judah Ari Gross

A Magen David Adom coronavirus testing station in Katsrin, Golan Heights, on September 15, 2021. (Michael Giladi/Flash90)

September 17, 2021, 12:50 pm

COVID testing sites swamped as they reopen after Yom Kippur

Number of coronavirus patients in serious condition remains largely unchanged but the positivity rate ticks slightly upward

By Amy Spiro

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett (L) and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. (Composite/AP)

September 14, 2021, 2:04 pm

Bennett: I don’t see any logic in meeting with Mahmoud Abbas

In interviews with a range of news outlets, prime minister says he understands many Israelis are angry at him for forming government to oust Netanyahu, but he stands by decision

By Amy Spiro

Israel Prisons Service Commissioner Katy Perry speaks during a Knesset Public Security Committee meeting on September 13, 2021. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

September 13, 2021, 4:37 pm

Prisons chief: We’ve foiled 300 escape attempts in the past decade

After Gilboa jailbreak by six Palestinian security prisoners, Katy Perry tells Knesset panel she’s set up team to inspect the engineering and design of every prison in Israel

By Amy Spiro

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett (L) and Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi meet on Monday, September 13, 2021 in Sharm el-Sheikh. (Kobi Gideon/GPO)

September 13, 2021, 2:54 pm

Exuding warmth, Egypt’s Sissi hosts PM for talks, in first such visit in decade

Sissi welcomes Bennett in Sharm el-Sheikh, poses with both countries’ flags in background; trip comes amid high Gaza tensions; EgyptAir is set to publicly fly Tel Aviv-Cairo route

By Amy Spiro and Aaron Boxerman

Health care workers take test samples of Israelis at a COVID testing drive-through complex in Modiin on September 10, 2021. (Yossi Aloni/Flash90)

September 13, 2021, 12:02 pm

For 1st time in 3 weeks, key measure of virus spread suggests wave still growing

R number surpasses 1; positivity rate among those tested continues to drop, as number of serious cases remains relatively steady

By Amy Spiro