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Rossella Tercatin

Rossella Tercatin

Rossella Tercatin is The Times of Israel's archaeology and religions reporter.
Alex Sinclair in an undated photo and his kippa before and after a Palestinian flag was cut out of it, as pictured on April 23, 2026. (Alex Sinclair/Courtesy)
June 21, 2026, 3:31 pm
Keeping his head: Educator detained for dual Israeli-Palestinian flag kippa dons replacement
In April, Israel police tore the Palestinian flag off Alex Sinclair’s kippa. Now he managed to buy a new one from the same Jerusalem store and remains undeterred
By Rossella Tercatin
Education Minister Yoav Kisch (left of center) and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (right of center) sit with students at the Dekel Vilnai Middle School in the settlement of Ma’ale Adumim in the West Bank, to launch an AI-powered English language program on June 11, 2026. (Haim Zach / GPO)
June 21, 2026, 10:40 am
With massive teacher shortages, Israel plans on teaching English to middle schoolers through AI
PM and education minister announce national program to move English lessons on screens. Since 40% of 19,000 English teachers don’t have training, could AI do much worse?
By Rossella Tercatin
Heritage Minister Amichay Eliyahu speaks at a conference on archaeology in the West Bank in Jerusalem on June 17, 2026. (Rossella Tercatin/Times of Israel)
June 18, 2026, 10:05 am
West Bank archaeology conference unearths controversy as politics takes center stage
Jerusalem event attracts hundreds, including dozens of scholars, but many in the field stay away and international participation is down; attendee calls event ‘highly politicized’
By Rossella Tercatin
The Wonderwerk Cave in South Africa. (Michael Chazan at the University of Toronto)
June 17, 2026, 5:31 am
In African cave, Israeli and international scientists find signs of earliest use of fire
Evidence of burns was detected on fossilized bones deep in the Wonderwerk Cave, setting back the clock for intentional use of fire from 1 million years ago to close to 1.8 million
By Rossella Tercatin
An aerial photograph of Room B in the 101 Building at Tel 'Eton in the southeastern part of Israel's Judean Shephelah. At the bottom left corner, the two segments of a standing stone (massebah). According to a 2026 study, the stone might have been repurposed following the religious reform by biblical King Hezekiah in the 8th century BCE. (Photo by Griffin Aerial Imaging; prepared by Dvir Rotem/Tel 'Eton Archaeological Expedition)
June 16, 2026, 9:32 am
Rare cultic stone from Israelite mansion may testify to King Hezekiah’s biblical reform
A massive 2,750-year-old artifact found at Tel ‘Eton might have been repurposed after a clampdown on worship outside the Temple in Jerusalem
By Rossella Tercatin
Excavations conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority and the University of Haifa in a prehistoric cave near Fureidis in Northern Israel. (Emil Aladjem/Israel Antiquities Authority)
June 12, 2026, 4:19 pm
‘A time capsule’: Israeli cave sealed for millennia sheds light on obscure prehistoric clan
A site near Fureidis, south of Haifa, was occupied by early humans around 300,000 years ago, right before Home Sapiens and Neanderthals emerged in the region
By Rossella Tercatin
Female soldiers operate a tank in the Negev Desert, in an undated photograph. (Israel Defense Forces)
June 10, 2026, 12:28 pm
Yeshiva rabbis say they won’t send students to tank units due to integration of women
Leaders of 12 yeshivas in ‘hesder’ joint study-service program reject plan to allow women to serve with men; IDF source says army in ‘impossible situation,’ critics pan it as refusal to serve
By ToI Staff, Rossella Tercatin and Emanuel Fabian
Illustrative: Israeli children, parents and staff clean at "Gan Nitzan" in Givatayim, as schools and kindergartens are due to re-open after being closed for more than a month due to the war with Iran, April 08, 2026. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)
June 8, 2026, 1:19 pm
Schools to reopen Tuesday, after students kept home for a day due to missile fire
Parents scrambled Monday as classrooms closed, but workplaces opened after attacks from Iran, Houthis; State Comptroller’s audit had said some 40% of schools lack proper shelter
By Rossella Tercatin and Emanuel Fabian
Former senior Mossad official, Aleph, with back to camera, speaks to Dana Weiss of Channel 12 news, in an interview June 6, 2026. (Channel 12 screenshot)
June 7, 2026, 12:30 am
Iranian regime will fall sooner or later, but US stopped war too early, ex-Mossad agent says
Israeli plan to bring down the regime was interrupted by the US decision to halt fighting, says ‘Aleph,’ a former senior official; dismisses reported US criticism that the agency’s plan was ‘farcical’ and ‘bullshit’
By Rossella Tercatin
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, shakes hands with new Mossad chief Roman Gofman at a welcoming ceremony, June 2, 2026. (Haim Zach/GPO)
June 6, 2026, 11:32 pm
Days into role, new Mossad chief dismisses highly experienced deputy director
‘Aleph’ fired after 22 years of service as Gofman ‘shapes new leadership’; decision reportedly criticized internally as new chief lacks experience, needs guidance
By Rossella Tercatin
Manuela Dviri, whose son Yoni fell in southern Lebanon in 1998. (Lidia Bagnara)
June 3, 2026, 9:14 pm
28 years after her son fell serving in Lebanon, activist mother slams IDF’s return
Manuela Dviri led the call for Israel to leave its northern neighbor after her son Yoni was killed in 1998. Today, as the military strengthens its foothold there, she doubles down
By Rossella Tercatin
Workers keep flat the restored floor of the ancient theater built by Herod the Great between 23-15 BCE in the Judaean desert, southeast of Bethlehem in the West Bank, on December 7, 2020. (Menahem Kahana/AFP)
June 2, 2026, 11:07 pm
Netanyahu said to halt progress of controversial West Bank and Gaza antiquities bill
Legislation to create new authority under the Heritage Ministry, opposed by IDF and many archaeologists, was pitched by sponsors as a step toward annexation
By Rossella Tercatin
Rabbi Michael Melchior in his apartment in Jerusalem on May 14, 2026. (Rossella Tercatin/Times of Israel)
June 2, 2026, 5:54 am
‘God’s wish’: Religious Zionist rabbi still crusading for peace with the Palestinians
20 years ago, Michael Melchior served as Knesset member and government minister when he chaired religious party Meimad; today, he believes faith-based values can yet shape a better future for Israel
By Rossella Tercatin
Six grader Alon Horowitz finds a rare 'Nicolo' stone, likely dating back at least 1,500 years, during a community excavation at Korazim National Park, in a discovery announced on June 1, 2026. (Korazim excavation team/Israel Nature and Parks Authority)
June 1, 2026, 6:00 am
12-year-old finds ancient gemstone in Galilean Jewish village cursed by Jesus
Sixth-grader Alon Horowitz finds rare ‘Nicolo’ stone, likely dating back at least 1,500 years, during community excavation at Korazim National Park
By Rossella Tercatin
Minister of Heritage Amichay Eliyahu (left), in Jerusalem, on January 12, 2026; Esti Shreiber (right), who was tapped as the new head of the Israel Antiquities Authority on May 12, 2026. On May 27, 2026, close to 60 archaeologists petitioned the High Court of Justice to block her appointment. (Left: Yonatan Sindel/Flash90; Right: Flash photography)
May 29, 2026, 2:37 am
Archaeologists petition High Court to block appointment of new antiquities authority chief
Petition deepens rift between academics and Heritage Minister Amichay Eliyahu, who have been at loggerheads over a controversial West Bank and Gaza antiquities bill
By Rossella Tercatin
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