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Diana Bletter

Diana Bletter

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

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Six months after ceasefire, some in north are slow to recover as fears of new fight lurk

Rebuilding amid detritus of 13-month war, Shtula residents embark on a prolonged comeback, while Kibbutz Sasa mourns loss of elderly evacuees who...

30.05.2025 20

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Ahead of World No Tobacco Day, Knesset votes to require graphic images on smoking products

Israel is the 2nd country to mandate such warnings on e-cigarettes, as survey finds 31% of Israeli smokers have started or resumed lighting up due to...

29.05.2025 20

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Mourning their genocide, Israeli Circassians hold fast to multilayered identity

Over 160 years after their people were expelled from the Caucasus, residents of Kfar Kama maintain their language and culture while embracing life as...

21.05.2025 70

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

France issues complaint against Iran at ICJ over detained citizens

Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris detained on espionage charges in 2022; move comes as France set to meet with Iran in Turkey over Iranian nuclear...

16.05.2025 20

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Israeli and Cypriot researchers team up on extreme cave makeover for rare monk seals

A rehabilitation project in northern Israel aims to provide safe and dry breeding places for the endangered marine mammals, of which only 600-700...

16.05.2025 40

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

‘Maybe God put Druze in Israel to save the Druze there’: Minority fights for Syrian cousins

For the 150,000-strong member Druze community, attacks against their brethren across the border cause concern and a commitment to strengthen their...

14.05.2025 30

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Facing a hostage situation without precedent, Israeli hospitals innovate to rehabilitate

With few guidelines to assist them in reacclimating child hostages, the elderly, and abductees held for hundreds of days, doctors have forged their...

10.05.2025 60

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Another US fighter jet goes overboard from carrier in Red Sea

Super Hornet falls off during botched landing on USS Harry S. Truman, forcing two pilots to eject, marking latest in series of costly naval...

07.05.2025 10

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Study: 12% of reserve soldiers report PTSD symptoms after Gaza combat service

‘Israel is facing a mental health emergency,’ warns Yair Bar-Haim, head of Tel Aviv University’s National Center for Trauma and Resilience, calling...

07.05.2025 10

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

As US pares back research funds, Israel Prize winner sees chance to cure brain drain

With opportunities for Israelis in academia overseas drying up, top cancer researcher Yinon Ben Neriah says the government could be working to make...

01.05.2025 20

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

8 cases of measles diagnosed in Israel in past week, Health Ministry says

Diagnosed patients from Tel Aviv, Bnei Brak, Emek Hefer and Modiin Illit, six of them are unvaccinated

30.04.2025 9

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Wartime volunteer midwife program, initiated in north, expands across the country

Magen David Adom and Israel Midwives Organization’s joint ‘First Contractions’ project now has 200 volunteers to help expectant mothers who...

27.04.2025 20

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

At Israeli premiere, ‘Miss Holocaust Survivor’ director struts celebration of life

Holocaust survivors who star in award-winning documentary about controversial pageant attend Haifa screening with Polish-born filmmaker; movie set for...

25.04.2025 50

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

In shadow of Holocaust and war, Arab doctors find shared humanity in caring for survivors

Volunteering for nonprofit LeMa’anam, Christian Yosif Boulos and Muslim Fadi Badarna provide home visits for elderly who lived through horrors...

24.04.2025 20

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Israeli team uses tool that finds fake online profiles to detect abnormal protein activity

Ben-Gurion University scientists say their innovative algorithm, WGAND, can identify rogue protein behavior the same way investigators uncover...

22.04.2025 40

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Israeli scientists develop first-ever blood test for early detection of Parkinson’s

Hebrew University researchers say their innovative test can find tRNA fragments unique to the neurodegenerative disease before patients even have...

15.04.2025 40

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

How often can you swallow? Israeli-improved test can screen for neurological disorders

Kaplan Medical Center researchers establish a baseline number of swallows for healthy people depending on their age, enabling more effective use of...

11.04.2025 30

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Israeli researchers develop AI tool to discover how cells react to drug treatment

Tel Aviv University team’s scNET algorithm combines data on cells with protein ‘social network’ to cut ‘high noise’ and shed light on immune...

04.04.2025 20

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Jewish Princeton student cleared of assault at anti-Israel protest last year

Judge finds US Army veteran David Piegaro showed poor judgment but it did not amount to ‘criminal recklessness’

03.04.2025 10

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

As north recovers from fighting, farmers bring war-ravaged fields back to life

Growers uprooted by months of rocket attacks and others who dug in despite the danger are salvaging their lands, but some fear a tense truce with...

03.04.2025 50

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Christians in a northern Galilee village lean into their faith as they fear for the future

In times of peace or war, church bells sound in Fassuta every day, giving some residents a sense of hope while others worry about the next generation...

31.03.2025 40

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Iran’s president officially rejects Trump demand for direct talks on nuclear program

Masoud Pezeshkian leaves door open for ‘indirect negotiations,’ a method that has so far failed over the past few years to revive curbs on...

30.03.2025 20

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

In breakthrough, Israeli-led team activates dormant bone marrow cells for transplants

Using mRNA model made famous by COVID vaccine, researchers from Israel, US and Canada find protein to ‘awaken’ adult stem cells in mice; could...

30.03.2025 60

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

In time for the equinox, Israel’s first solar observatory opens in northern Druze town

Solaris launches in Isfiya as part of a government program to increase space research in the Arab Israeli community

20.03.2025 30

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

With new Gaza fighting, 4 IDF widows worry the bodies of their fallen husbands won’t return

Women from the IDF Widows and Orphans Organization whose spouses are among the 35 dead hostages in Gaza call for ‘the immediate release of all...

19.03.2025 10

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Israeli physicist sets national Pi memorization record

Yehuda Ashkelon of Ben-Gurion University recited 25,333 decimal places in Spanish, setting world record in language, new Israeli record and placing...

18.03.2025 20

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Israeli researchers use gene editing to eliminate 50% of head, neck tumors in mice

Tel Aviv University scientists say that they can inject CRISPR genetic ‘molecular scissors’ to shrink tumors by 90%; researcher...

17.03.2025 20

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Oft-overlooked Druze see new NIS 3.9 billion plan as step to address old grievances

After a Haifa stabbing attack mislabeled as terrorism sent fear through the close-knit Druze community last week, Sunday’s government package sparks...

11.03.2025 30

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

After doctors accuse Israel of shooting Gazan kids, experts see need for a second opinion

The evidence behind a New York Times op-ed suggesting troops targeted children is less clear-cut than it seems, and there is reason to question the...

08.03.2025 50

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Breast milk protein’s superpowers lead to breakthrough for new class of oral drugs

Technion researcher Dr. Assaf Zinger says his team’s work shows that the proteins cover and protect nanoparticles as they pass through intestinal...

05.03.2025 30

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Bedouin and Jewish residents who evacuated from north return home to mourn and rebuild

With schools now open, the communities of Arab al-Aramshe and neighboring Kibbutz Adamit in the Western Galilee rethink their ‘naivete’ about...

04.03.2025 40

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

The sky is no limit: Reserve soldier with cerebral palsy summits Mt. Kilimanjaro

Walking with crutches through the ice and snow, Maayan Gabai ascends Africa’s tallest mountain with a group of 30 Israelis, helps raise NIS 1...

28.02.2025 30

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

As northerners sent home, hard-hit Metula says more time needed to heal war wounds

With main street a construction site, the school in ruins and most residents still reticent to return, Mayor David Azoulay wants the government to...

24.02.2025 30

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

With his brother still captive, freed hostage Iair Horn sent home from hospital

Five days after he was released from Gaza, family says ‘the journey to recovery for Iair and our family will be long, and will not end until...

20.02.2025 7

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Researcher names potent lifesaving virus after soldier boyfriend killed in Gaza War

As antibiotic-resistant bacteria pose growing health risk, Hebrew University scientists search for ‘good’ viruses and name them after...

19.02.2025 9

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Traumatized and tortured: Freed hostages face arduous road to recovery

While many trauma experts say humans have a remarkable capacity for resilience, studies show that the psychological damage of captivity endures a...

15.02.2025 40

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Groundbreaking study: People with intellectual disabilities can get smarter as they age

Debunking a myth, Bar-Ilan researcher says adults with Down syndrome and nonspecific intellectual disabilities improve their cognitive functioning...

14.02.2025 30

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

With physician shortage ‘urgent,’ 2 new medical schools to open in Israel

University of Haifa’s medical school aims to strengthen healthcare in the north; Weizmann Institute’s school is tuition-free, combining scientific...

13.02.2025 40

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Trump, envoy Witkoff secure release from Russia of detained US citizen Marc Fogel

Teacher, deemed wrongfully detained, had been held since 2021; White House says development ‘sign’ of heading in right direction to end war in Ukraine

12.02.2025 10

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

State Comptroller says 3 million Israelis suffering from trauma since October 7

Engelman faults Health Ministry for ‘collapsed’ health care system; Health Minister Uriel Buso set to double the scope of mental health services

12.02.2025 10

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

‘Fear is now in our DNA’: With pause in Hezbollah attacks, two border towns regroup

The 15-month war took its toll ‘not only physically but also emotionally’ on residents evacuated from Mattat, and those who stayed put in the...

05.02.2025 10

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

As Alawite village on Israel-Lebanon border reopens, locals fear for relatives in Syria

After enduring decades of isolation amid border disputes, residents of Ghajar are focused on their Syrian kin, who face retribution for belonging to...

03.02.2025 20

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

For second time, Shamir hospital readies to treat Thai hostages ‘like family’

Armed with hard-won experience from first release, central Israel medical center preps rooms and staff amid speculation that 10 foreign nationals...

28.01.2025 20

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Guidelines for hospitals set to receive hostages include STD checks, pregnancy tests

Ministry official says new protocols differ ‘significantly’ from November 2023 hostage release, as captives return from over 15 months in...

17.01.2025 30

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Israeli scientist in peer-reviewed study: Immunotherapy treatment could slow aging process

Israel Prize winner Prof. Michal Schwartz says her team’s work fighting Alzheimer’s can lead to treatments that boost immune system to slow down...

14.01.2025 70

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Ants have more ‘group smarts’ than humans, Israeli study finds

A Weizmann Institute of Science team has found that ants have better group smarts than people when maneuvering a large load through a maze. Prof....

06.01.2025 80

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Fish embryos decide when they want to be born, Israeli researchers find

Hebrew University researchers say they have discovered that fish embryos are able to decide when they want to be born. Dr. Matan Golan from the...

15.12.2024 7

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

‘History repeats itself’ as South Lebanon Army veteran, Israeli killed side-by-side

Friends Shamoun Najm, 54, and Ziv Belfer, 52, didn’t have time to reach a nearby shelter before impact of lethal Hezbollah rockets, say Nahariya...

14.11.2024 6

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Israeli researchers identify protein that stops immune cells from attacking tumors

Tel Aviv University team finds Ly6a protein ‘puts the brake’ on the immune system, in discovery that points to a cure for cancers, including those...

05.11.2024 50

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Resolutely rooted war-time farmers work together to douse Hezbollah rocket flames

At an agricultural village 15km from the Lebanon border, after a Soviet Grad directly hits a Western Galilee house, residents race to put out fires...

26.10.2024 4

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter