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Sue Surkes
Sue Surkes
Sue Surkes is The Times of Israel's environment reporter.
A homeless man in Jerusalem. Under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel has emerged as one of the developed world’s most economically unequal countries. (photo credit: Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
November 28, 2020, 12:32 pm
Coronavirus is driving thousands of people into hunger. Where is the state?
Charities shoulder most of the burden for food insecurity as a lack of government funding, and perhaps of will, leaves no guiding hand for largely helpless social welfare agencies
By Sue Surkes
Illustrative picture of a child. (Xavier_S, i-Stock photos at Getty Images)
November 25, 2020, 3:24 pm
With school out for months, hundreds of thousands of kids face food insecurity
400,000 children eligible for hot school meals are stuck at home due to coronavirus, falling between cracks as ministries fail to take responsibility, Knesset committee hears
By Sue Surkes
Twelve standing stones at the base of Mount Karkom, said by one expert to recall 'altar stones' described in the Bible. (Sue Surkes/Times of Israel)
November 25, 2020, 1:45 pm
Ancient rock etchings on remote Negev plateau evoke the Bible, draw new interest
As Mount Karkom attracts increasing visitors, archaeologists try to protect a prehistoric art-filled site that a top researcher claims is Mount Sinai, complete with ‘burning bush’
By Sue Surkes
People shop for groceries at the Rami Levy supermarket in Modi'in, on September 24, 2020. (Yossi Aloni/Flash90)
November 17, 2020, 11:45 pm
4 years late, rules approved to enable fines for free plastic bag giveaways
Plastic Bag Law, passed in March 2016, included fine scale, but could not be implemented until accompanying regulations were approved
By Sue Surkes
An electric Renault vehicle charges in Ramat Hasharon, Israel. February, 7 2010. (Roni Schutzer/Flash90/Maariv Out)
November 17, 2020, 6:23 pm
Ministry unveils program to make Israeli economy more energy efficient
With its NIS 1 billion price tag, the proposal is unlikely to see the light of day until the government agrees to pass a long-delayed state budget
By Sue Surkes
Illustrative: Israeli women from the Ethiopian Jewish community pray during the Sigd holiday marking the desire to 'return to Jerusalem,' as they celebrate from a hilltop in the holy city overlooking the Temple Mount, on November 16, 2017. (AFP Photo/Gali Tibbon/File)
November 17, 2020, 11:35 am
After 1st conflict fatality, activists beg PM to airlift all Ethiopian Jews now
Knesset Aliyah Committee to grill officials Wednesday against backdrop of escalating fighting in northwest Ethiopia, in which Gondar Jew was killed last week
By Sue Surkes
Israelis enjoy the hot weather at the beach in Tel Aviv, September 5, 2020. (Miriam Alster/FLASH90)
November 16, 2020, 5:16 pm
Israel’s winter likely to be much drier than last – expert
South will be hot and dry, with center and north also unlikely to be rainy, in line with broader climate change trends, says IDC’s Yoav Yair
By Sue Surkes
An undated photo of Germew Gete in army uniform. (Courtesy)
November 16, 2020, 4:42 pm
Ethiopia conflict claims 1st Jewish victim; he’d waited 24 years for Israel move
Girmew Gete, 36, who was shot dead in the Amara-Tigray border area, is survived by partner and 4-year-old daughter; his 84-year-old grandmother is mostly alone in Kiryat Gat
By Sue Surkes
Environmental Protection Ministry marine unit inspector Yevgeni Malkin aboard the Leviathan natural gas rig. (Environmental Protection Ministry)
November 15, 2020, 4:55 pm
Israel fines Noble Energy-Chevron NIS 3.78m for polluting sea
‘Chevron take note,’ environmental protection minister warns US company that acquired Noble in October: ‘The polluter pays’
By Sue Surkes
An Ethiopian worshiper at the synagogue in Addis Ababa praying and holding photos of family members living in Israel. (Bernard Dichek/Times of Israel)
November 13, 2020, 3:34 am
Anxious, divided families wait to see who Israel will airlift from Ethiopia
November 15 will mark 5 years since the government first promised to bring some 8,000 Ethiopian Jews to Israel; officials are now selecting 2,000 for a January arrival
By Sue Surkes
Illustrative photo of a banquet buffet. (KatarzynaBialasiewicz, istockphoto, Getty Images)
November 10, 2020, 12:49 pm
Food waste ‘could have funded a fifth of Israel’s COVID-19 aid budget’ – expert
Israel continues to dump a third of food it produces, says report by Leket Israel and Environment Ministry; waste contributes 6% of country’s global warming gases
By Sue Surkes
Israeli secular protesters shout slogans in Jerusalem on August 12, 2017, during a demonstration of ultra Orthodox Jews against businesses that operate on Saturdays in the city. The slogan, which rhymes in Hebrew, says, 'We're not against the Sabbath, we're against religious pressure.' (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90 )
November 9, 2020, 6:22 am
Ire as Jerusalem tries to regulate religious character of neighborhood councils
Mayor moves to determine exactly how many of the elected representatives should be Haredim, angering everyone; city says aim is to ensure all communities have a voice
By Sue Surkes
Architect's impression of the planned cable car station on Mount Zion. The Dormition Church can be seen to the left. (From plans submitted to the National Planning Council)
November 4, 2020, 10:51 am
Jerusalem cable car excavation work to begin in next few days
Despite ongoing court case, project director says work will start within 2 weeks to move existing infrastructure; go-ahead already given to uproot trees along route
By Sue Surkes
Meital Ben Ari (left) and Adit Romano, founders of Freedom Farm. (Courtesy, Freedom Farm)
November 2, 2020, 9:09 pm
How two businesswomen changed course to give animals a home and a voice
At Freedom Farm, a kid goat rescued from a ritual Passover slaughter mingles with pigs and hens so overfed they cannot stand
By Sue Surkes
This January 16, 2019 photo shows a a first lab-grown steak during a presentation by the Israeli company Aleph Farms, in Jaffa, Israel. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)
October 29, 2020, 3:08 pm
Israeli protein startups flourish in bid to cut meat’s carbon footprint
Big food companies investing in alternatives to conventional meat and dairy, due to environmental damage caused by livestock farming and need to feed 10 billion mouths by 2050
By Sue Surkes
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