Tobias Siegal

Tobias (Toby) Siegal is a breaking news editor and contributor to The Times of Israel.

Then-prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, and then-US vice president Joe Biden speak in front of media prior to a meeting on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on January 21, 2016. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

January 24, 2023, 11:36 am

Legal overhaul could jeopardize Israel’s security and ties with US, think tank warns

In 86-page report presented to Herzog, Institute for National Security Studies says plan could undermine democracy, have severe implications for internal and external stability

By Tobias Siegal and TOI staff

A combination of images showing Shalev Korostishevsky, 50, and police officers outside an apartment building in Petah Tikva where Korostishevsky was allegedly stabbed and then set on fire. (Israel Police)

January 22, 2023, 9:43 pm

Cops say they solved murder of Petah Tikva man stabbed 70 times

Shalev Korostishevsky, 50, was found dead outside his home last month; police name prime suspect, allege he burned victim’s body and apartment in cover-up attempt

By Tobias Siegal

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leads the weekly cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, January 22, 2022. (Kobi Gideon/GPO)

January 22, 2023, 5:16 pm

Cabinet expands state-subsidized health benefits, okays ministry chiefs

Government okays subsidized eyeglasses for children, advanced cancer treatments, diabetes meds; Netanyahu says international bond sale shows ‘the world actually believes in Israel’

By Tobias Siegal

Textile finds from the Nahal Omer site in the Arava region in southern Israel, prepared for analysis in the laboratory (Israel Silk Road Project/Nofar Shamir)

January 19, 2023, 1:46 pm

First evidence of unknown ancient ‘Israeli Silk Road’ uncovered in Arava trash dump

Results from sifting 1,600-year-old garbage during a first excavation season at Nahal Omer suggest luxury goods from East were in high demand in the 8th century CE, researchers say

By Tobias Siegal

Illustrative: A Los Angeles County sheriff's vehicle in Whittier, California, November 16, 2022. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

January 18, 2023, 1:15 am

Israeli charged with defrauding $47 million from Orthodox Jews in US

Yossi Engel allegedly bilked 29 investors by lying about security camera company, real estate deals, then fled to Israel after Ponzi scheme collapsed

By Tobias Siegal

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh greets European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in the West Bank city of Ramallah, June 14, 2022. (Flash90)

January 9, 2023, 3:27 pm

Israeli sanctions will lead to Palestinian Authority’s collapse, warns PM Shtayyeh

In a rare interview with a Hebrew outlet, politician defends Ramallah’s successful UN initiative, saying Palestinians ‘have a right to complain,’ urges international assistance

By Tobias Siegal

The Knesset's House Committee chair Likud MK Ofir Katz during a debate on fast-tracking bills that would annul the citizenship of convicted terrorists who receive stipends from the Palestinian Authority, in the Knesset in Jerusalem, January 9, 2023. (Noam Moshkovitz, Knesset spokesperson)

January 9, 2023, 1:53 pm

Knesset to fast-track bills revoking citizenship of terror convicts getting PA wages

Coalition legislation set to be approved by plenum within 2 weeks; Arab MK Tibi says it singles out Arabs; Likud MK retorts: ‘I prefer Jewish murderers over Arab murderers’

By Tobias Siegal

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid (R) speaks during a Yesh Atid faction meeting at the Knesset, in Jerusalem, on January 2, 2023; Justice Minister Yariv Levin arrives for a group picture of the new government at the president's residence in Jerusalem, on December 29, 2022. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

January 4, 2023, 6:35 pm

Gantz: Coalition’s judicial overhaul bid is a political coup; Lapid: I’ll reverse it

Justice Minister Levin set to announce legislative blitz including an override clause, amended framework for choosing judges, canceling ‘reasonability’ as legal grounds

By Tobias Siegal

Turkish Mevlevi Dervish Osman Sariaj, left, seen during a Sama ceremony commemorating the 749th death anniversary of Islamic Sufi mystic Rumi, at the Irfa Culture Center in Konya, Turkey, December 17, 2022. (Tobias Siegal/Times of Israel)

December 30, 2022, 1:03 pm

In Turkey, Islamic mystic Rumi’s whirling connects even Iranians and Israeli Jews

During a 10-day annual commemoration ceremony known as the Şeb-i Arus or ‘the night of the union,’ Konya is Turkey’s most buzzing pilgrimage center. This year, ToI was there, too

By Tobias Siegal

Incoming prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, former prime minister Naftali Bennett, center, and the leader of the Otzma Yehudit party, Itamar Ben Gvir, attend the funeral of Rabbi Chaim Druckman on December 26, 2022. (Gil COHEN-MAGEN / AFP)

December 26, 2022, 11:57 pm

High Court orders Netanyahu, Ben Gvir to respond to petition against nomination

Case cites Ben Gvir’s past activity disturbing public order to argue against him being put in charge of police; similar bid to stop Deri nomination ruled ‘premature’

By Jeremy Sharon and Tobias Siegal

Outgoing Public Security Minister Omer Barlev speaks during a Knesset debate, December 14, 2022. (Knesset Channel screenshot)

December 14, 2022, 9:04 pm

Minister Barlev reveals confidential information during debate on successor’s powers

Outgoing police minister says reveal of potentially sensitive info was intended to address Ben Gvir’s ‘far-fetched claims’ on need to give him greater authorities

By Tobias Siegal

Israeli spy Eli Cohen in Syria in the 1960s. (PMO)

December 12, 2022, 4:32 pm

Mossad head reveals how Syria found Eli Cohen, discloses spy’s final message

Inaugurating museum named for legendary secret agent, Barnea says Cohen was caught because his cables were ‘intercepted and triangulated,’ not because he transmitted too frequently

By Tobias Siegal

'Bustan Sephardi' cast seen on stage in Rabat, Morocco, November 2022. (Channel 12)

December 11, 2022, 5:36 pm

Israeli musical plays in Morocco in Hebrew — a first for any Arab country

Production’s arrival underlines warming relations between the countries; Israeli cast welcomed with open arms, Channel 12 says

By Tobias Siegal

Then-prime minister Yair Lapid and Yesh Atid activists protest against Benjamin Netanyahu and his expected government, in Tel Aviv, December 9, 2022. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

December 9, 2022, 12:58 pm

Leading protests, Lapid warns of ‘most extreme and insane government in our history’

Outgoing PM calls Netanyahu ‘weak,’ says he is being outmaneuvered by younger, more extreme coalition partners and warns coalition will be unable to govern

By Tobias Siegal

Religious Zionism party head MK Bezalel Smotrich after coalition talks at a hotel in Jerusalem, December 5, 2022. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

December 8, 2022, 9:11 am

Next treasury chief Smotrich: ‘Following the Torah will lead to financial abundance’

Far-right leader says he plans to examine ‘the macro and the micro’ of Israel’s economy once he enters office, but stresses that above all he is a religious Jew

By Tobias Siegal