Ash Obel

A worker cleans fliers off the ground outside a Likud primary voting station in Ashdod on August 10, 2022. (Flash90)

August 12, 2022, 3:08 am

Rivals blast Likud as misogynist ‘Bibistan’ after primary rewards male loyalists

As erstwhile partners Sa’ar and Liberman take aim at slate for cult of personality around Netanyahu, nationalists Shaked and Ben Gvir predict future alliance with faction

By Ash Obel

The International Convention Center, Binyanei Hauma, in Jerusalem, August 14, 2007. (Nati Shohat/Flash90)

August 11, 2022, 10:37 pm

Iconic Jerusalem building saved from redevelopment plans

International Convention Center at entrance to capital was slated for near destruction under the NIS 1.8 billion Jerusalem City Entrance Project; ‘You don’t touch a historic icon’

By Ash Obel

Pop star Justin Bieber raising his hand in what has been interpreted as a Nazi salute at a concern in Helsinki, Finland, August 9, 2022. (Screen capture/Twitter)

August 10, 2022, 8:05 pm

Israeli promoters reject rabbi’s claim Justin Bieber performed Nazi salute on stage

Canadian singer filmed raising hand and marching at concert in Finland, though moves appear to be part of ‘stomp’ dance regularly performed as joke between Bielebers

By Ash Obel and TOI staff

Pedestrians walk on Church Street, past the Ben & Jerry's shop, in Burlington, Vermont, March 11, 2020. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

August 10, 2022, 5:07 pm

Israeli students accuse Ben & Jerry’s of illegally occupying Native American lands

Letter is a response to the company’s controversial efforts to halt sales in West bank settlements

By Ash Obel

Petah Tikva mayor Rami Greenberg on December 5 2017. (Rami Greenberg/ Wikipedia CC-BY-4.0)

August 10, 2022, 9:19 am

Petah Tikva mayor arrested on suspicion of bribery, fraud and breach of trust

Rami Greenberg detained along with municipality’s director-general and 2 businesspeople; attorney protests arrest on day of Likud primary

By Ash Obel and TOI staff

The popular US animated show "The Simpsons" features an image that looks like the northern Israel kibbutz Nir David (Screen capture/20th Century Fox)

August 8, 2022, 6:40 pm

Picturesque Israeli kibbutz features in The Simpsons

Episode includes aerial image of northern community, leaving viewers to speculate over its inclusion

By Ash Obel

A picture of a chorizo sausage published by French professor Etienne Klein, who told followers it was an image of a star. (courtesy)

August 8, 2022, 5:59 pm

Scientist sorry for posting chorizo pic, telling readers it’s a star

Prominent French physicist Etienne Klein’s attempt at humor did not go down well with his social media followers, forcing him to publicly apologize for the deceptive post

By Ash Obel

Police officer Barak Meshulam, killed July 17, 2022 (Courtesy)

August 8, 2022, 3:45 pm

Teen charged with murder for deadly ramming of cop in stolen car

17-year-old Palestinian accused of illegally entering Israel and stealing car, then driving it into Barak Meshulam, 29, who had set up checkpoint to apprehend him

By Ash Obel

Illustrative: A Dreamliner 787-10 pulls up to a gate in Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey, in 2019. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

August 7, 2022, 12:25 pm

Flight from US delayed when pilot refused to fly to Israel over ‘security situation’

Passengers say they were given contradictory reasons for delay, including United Airlines’ pilot’s refusal to fly and a non-existent ‘curfew’ at Ben Gurion Airport

By Ash Obel

Shirley Pinto communicates with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett during a swearing-in ceremony of new parliamentarians at the Knesset in Jerusalem on June 16, 2021. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

August 3, 2022, 11:59 pm

Yamina MK Pinto, senior official reject joining Shaked’s Zionist Spirit

Knesset’s first deaf member vows to keep fighting for disabled rights; former Yamina director-general Shirley Weinstein also confirms she won’t enlist in new right-wing party

By Ash Obel

Then-US vice president Mike Pence speaks at the 2018 American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) policy conference at Washington Convention Center, on March 5, 2018, in Washington, DC (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

August 3, 2022, 6:51 pm

Poll: Over a quarter of Democrats feel Biden administration too supportive of Israel

Figure is at 9% among Republicans; meanwhile, 33% of Democrats support the pro-Palestinian BDS movement, compared to 9% of Republicans

By Ash Obel

Eyal Hulata, Israel's National Security Council chairman, looks on during the 17th IISS Manama Dialogue in the Bahraini capital Manama, on November 20, 2021 (Mazen MAHDI / AFP)

July 27, 2022, 2:41 pm

Three senior advisers to Lapid test positive for COVID

PM’s national security adviser, senior special adviser and spokesperson are all isolating, as Israel’s 6th coronavirus wave continues to recede

By Ash Obel

July 27, 2022, 10:34 am

Woman fatally shot in Lod while holding 2-year-old daughter on lap

Rabab Abu Siyam is killed while visiting her 3 daughters, after ex-husband’s threats had forced her to flee the city; victim’s father: ‘You can’t separate a mother from her kids’

By Ash Obel

Traffic piles up on the Ayalon highway in Tel Aviv, July 24, 2022. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

July 25, 2022, 2:33 pm

Commuters hit with travel chaos in rush hour, with major train lines out of action

Infrastructure failures on Jerusalem-Herzliya line add to havoc caused by construction on the Tel Aviv-Haifa route; new pricing structure comes into effect

By Ash Obel

Hungary President Viktor Orban arrives at the NATO Heads of State summit in Madrid, June 30, 2022. Hungary's controversial prime minister is coming to the United States to address a gathering of conservative activists (Bertrand Guay, Pool via AP, File)

July 25, 2022, 11:43 am

Far-right Hungarian PM Orban decries European ‘race-mixing,’ sparking outrage

Speaking in Romania, Hungary’s leader claims European countries with high level of interracial mixing are ‘no longer nations’; opponents label him ‘delusional and dangerous’

By Ash Obel and AFP