Ash Obel

Two workers clean a street in front of skyscrapers with the giant pictures of soccer stars Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal, Andre Ayew of Ghana and Dusan Tadic of Serbia, from right, in Doha, Qatar, Tuesday, November 29, 2022. (AP/Martin Meissner)

December 7, 2022, 2:21 am

Qatar’s showy soccer spectacle can’t sideline conflict and controversy at World Cup

The tournament has united the Arab world, but the exploitation of migrant workers and exclusion of others have muddied the pitch and stained the beautiful game

By Ash Obel

December 6, 2022, 4:37 pm

JNF-KKL appoints Ifat Ovadia-Luski as first-ever woman to chair organization

Former CEO of World Likud will replace current head Avraham Duvdevani at end of month; Likud MKs sought to block appointment

By Judah Ari Gross and Ash Obel

Footage purportedly showing an explosion at Engels air base in Saratov, Russia, December 5, 2022. (Twitter video screenshot: used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

December 6, 2022, 11:51 am

Ukrainian official claims drone attacks on Russian territory

New York Times cites official saying special forces team penetrated enemy territory to guide strikes; 3rd strike reported in Kursk region Tuesday

By Ash Obel

Fans wave the Palestinian flag and cheer prior to the group A soccer match between Qatar and Ecuador at the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, Sunday, Nov. 20, 2022. (AP/Ariel Schalit)

November 29, 2022, 11:05 pm

Faraway friction with Palestinians follows some Israelis to World Cup in Qatar

Fans and journalists unable to hide their identities assailed, told to go home by locals and others at soccer tournament, as love of sports unable to overcome geopolitical disputes

By Ash Obel

Israeli diplomat Alon Lavi attends a World Cup match during his time off from diplomatic duties, Doha, Qatar, November 21, 2022. (Courtesy)

November 24, 2022, 7:45 pm

Temporary presence, not a breakthrough: The Israeli diplomats in Qatar for World Cup

Group of six Foreign Ministry employees attends to consular needs of estimated 10,000 Israelis expected to visit tournament

By Ash Obel

Eli Chitrik, 21, holds a kosher bagel made available free of charge to Jewish fans attending the World Cup in Doha, Qatar, November 23, 2022. (Ash Obel/The Times of Israel)

November 24, 2022, 6:54 am

At Qatar’s first-ever kosher establishment, have a bagel but hold the blab

For religious Jews, getting a bite at the World Cup involves a trip to a secret hotel room, where a Chabad rabbi distributes sandwiches with a side of Jewish pride

By Ash Obel

Illustrative: Iranian soccer fans pose for a selfie prior to the World Cup group B soccer match between England and Iran at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Qatar, Monday, Nov. 21, 2022. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

November 22, 2022, 3:16 pm

‘I’m talking to an Israeli journalist!’ Giggles and grace from Iranians at World Cup

Most Iranian fans outside Doha’s Khalifa stadium politely decline to speak with ToI. But some do, while one Tehran resident conveys his implied support for change with a mime

By Ash Obel

Fans from Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia hold their national flags in Doha's Souq Waqif, November 21, 2022. (Ash Obel/Times of Israel)

November 21, 2022, 4:55 pm

At Mideast’s 1st World Cup, mixed results for an Israeli reporter’s interview forays

While many Arab fans refuse to share their thoughts, one Saudi tells ToI: ‘For me, relations with Israel are a good thing… We need peace around the world’

By Ash Obel

Qatari locals walk down Doha's Corniche Street following their country's opening-match loss to Ecuador, November 20, 2022. (Ash Obel/Times of Israel)

November 21, 2022, 2:47 am

At the World Cup, a timid start, on and off the pitch, for hosts Qatar

As host nation becomes first in soccer tournament’s history to lose its opening game, locals and incoming fans don’t seem sure how, or even whether, to embrace a compromised event

By Ash Obel

Hezbollah fighters hold flags as they attend the memorial of their slain leader Sheik Abbas al-Mousawi, who was killed by an Israeli airstrike in 1992, in Tefahta village, South Lebanon, February 13, 2016. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari, File)

November 15, 2022, 10:59 pm

Hezbollah exploiting diplomatic loopholes to finance terror, investigation finds

International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and ProPublica say centuries-old ‘honorary consul’ system being utilized by terror group to funnel money to Beirut

By Ash Obel

Illustrative photo of Rambam Hospital staff (Courtesy)

November 15, 2022, 1:21 am

Hospitalizations in Israel fell by 22% over a decade, Health Ministry report finds

Decline intensified at start of pandemic when elective surgeries were limited; masking reduced other illnesses and fear of contracting illnesses kept people away from hospitals

By Ash Obel

Illustrative photo of pills in the Teva Medical Factory in Har Hotzvim, Jerusalem, March 15, 2010. (Nati Shohat/Flash90)

November 9, 2022, 11:56 pm

Israeli teen dies after taking painkiller banned in US — report

Optalgin, available over the counter in Israel but restricted elsewhere, known to cause dangerous side effects that can lead to death

By Ash Obel

A picture of Aristides de Sousa Mendes, who is credited with saving thousands in the Holocaust, next to the square named in his honor, Kiryat Hayovel, Jerusalem, November 8, 2022 (Ash Obel/Times of Israel)

November 9, 2022, 12:32 pm

Jerusalem square named for Portuguese diplomat who saved 10,000 Jews in WWII

Aristides de Sousa Mendes defied his country’s dictator and provided visas to people in France fleeing Nazi persecution; mayor says plaza ‘now carries the name of a hero’

By Ash Obel

Firefighters spray water as they try to douse a fire near the village of Biguglia, Corsica island, France, as some hundreds of firefighters battle blazes fanned by high winds in more than a dozen zones in the Riviera region of southern France, on July 25, 2017. (AP Photo/Raphael Poletti, FILE)

November 6, 2022, 10:06 pm

UN climate report: Last 8 years the hottest on record

Published on opening day of COP27 climate summit, dossier says rate of sea level rise has doubled since 1993, average temperature 1.15 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial level

By Ash Obel

Senior Rabbi of the Jewish Council of the Emirates Elie Abadie attaches a Mezuzah to the Beit El Synagogue at Mohammed VI Polytechnic University in Marrakech, Morocco. (Screenshot/ YouTube; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

November 6, 2022, 7:31 pm

Morocco opens first university campus synagogue in Arab world

Despite having no Jewish students enrolled, Mohammed VI Polytechnic University in Marrakesh inaugurates house of worship alongside mosque as symbol of tolerance

By Ash Obel