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Sue Surkes

Sue Surkes

The Times of Israel

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Pop-up stop for soldiers on Gaza border draws volunteers from across the globe

Pop-up stop for soldiers on Gaza border draws volunteers from across the globe

Begun by a handful of brothers eager to help fellow Israelis on October 7, 2023, Shuva Achim has become a second home for soldiers and a magnet for...

saturday 50

The Times of Israel

Sue Surkes

Ramat Gan Safari bids farewell to Bahati, iconic 65-year-old elephant

Ramat Gan Safari bids farewell to Bahati, iconic 65-year-old elephant

One of the oldest recorded female African elephants in the world, she bore five calves and boasts a lineage of 52 elephants across European zoos

05.05.2026 40

The Times of Israel

Sue Surkes

High Court allows Bazan to build new power plant after old one damaged by Iran

High Court allows Bazan to build new power plant after old one damaged by Iran

However, judges note oil refinery will eventually have to close in line with government decision

05.05.2026 50

The Times of Israel

Sue Surkes

Survey finds fewer than 25% of Gaza border residents feel safe, 40% don’t trust state

Survey finds fewer than 25% of Gaza border residents feel safe, 40% don’t trust state

But detailed progress report by Tekuma Directorate at halfway mark of five-year term finds rising life satisfaction, optimism about future

04.05.2026 40

The Times of Israel

Sue Surkes

Sea of Galilee trail plan that keeps parts of shore off-limits to public sparks outcry

Sea of Galilee trail plan that keeps parts of shore off-limits to public sparks outcry

Green groups fight to stop national planners from okaying fences, locked gates and bypass routes along parts of 32-km stretch of Sea of Galilee hiking...

04.05.2026 50

The Times of Israel

Sue Surkes

Riding the rails through a fractured land, young people reflect on real life, today

Riding the rails through a fractured land, young people reflect on real life, today

Along a journey from Nahariya on the Lebanese border to the southern city of Beersheba, six interviewees discuss 30 months of war, society, Israeli...

03.05.2026 70

The Times of Israel

Sue Surkes

Great excitement as first orangutan is born at Jerusalem Biblical Zoo

Cayaha, a name that means ‘light’ in Indonesian, born as part of European zoo breeding program, as critically endangered wild populations continue...

29.04.2026 40

The Times of Israel

Sue Surkes

After years in limbo, court lets Syrian convert live in Israel with husband, a disabled vet

Interior Ministry had repeatedly denied couple’s efforts to build a home in the country, despite woman’s conversion to Judaism and severing of...

29.04.2026 60

The Times of Israel

Sue Surkes

The Mediterranean: Warmer, saltier, more acidic, and rising fast — report

Annual national monitoring report paints stark picture of sea under threat from climate change, with invasive species taking over and local ones...

29.04.2026 60

The Times of Israel

Sue Surkes

Chinese automaker BYD’s new-generation fast chargers to hit Israel later this year

With other Chinese car manufacturers in hot pursuit, BYD’s new batteries and stations promise to charge electric vehicles from 10% to 97% in less...

27.04.2026 50

The Times of Israel

Sue Surkes

Night light disrupts antibody production rhythms, may raise risk of death, Israeli study finds

Tel Aviv University research on mice, with implications for humans, finds artificial lighting from sources as common as streetlights disrupts...

27.04.2026 60

The Times of Israel

Sue Surkes

Chinese EV firm Nio accused of exploiting Better Place patents in $250 million suit

Nio rejects claim it is infringing on intellectual property of Charge Peak, which acquired patents after pioneering Israeli electric car company...

26.04.2026 40

The Times of Israel

Sue Surkes

Environmental activists threaten High Court petition over data wipe

Environmental Protection Ministry pulled all pollution permits data from website due to emergency request citing Iran’s efforts to target industrial...

26.04.2026 50

The Times of Israel

Sue Surkes

Retail chains found to be charging over double what they pay for imported grapes

Agriculture Ministry mulling price controls after audit reveals grapes imported for NIS 14 per kilogram (less than $5) being sold for NIS 32 (more...

22.04.2026 60

The Times of Israel

Sue Surkes

Featured Post

In a rare alignment, Israel’s Independence Day converges this year with International Earth Day. The timing is perfect. While wars, grief, and a...

22.04.2026 50

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

Sue Surkes

Despite cost of living hikes, Israelis are eating more beef, veal

Annual per capita consumption of 20.2 kilograms of bovine meat last year was 7% up on the year before, Agriculture Ministry says; purchases set to...

20.04.2026 60

The Times of Israel

Sue Surkes

New drought-resistant wheat variety named after October 7 victim

Hamas terrorists murdered agronomist Yakov Inon and his wife Bilha at Moshav Netiv Ha’asara. He was a consultant to the Volcani Instiute, which...

20.04.2026 50

The Times of Israel

Sue Surkes

New site offers travel by armchair to Eilat’s magnificent coral reefs

Website aimed at raising awareness about Gulf of Eilat’s marine wonders; includes virtual safaris through different underwater habitats, a reef live...

19.04.2026 40

The Times of Israel

Sue Surkes

‘Test tube orgy’: Israeli scientists use yeast to assess humans’ mating preferences

Weizmann Institute researchers find that yeast born to preferred partners are fitter than those from one-night stands, showing how we choose mates who...

18.04.2026 50

The Times of Israel

Sue Surkes

In turnaround, Energy Ministry calls to relocate, not close, Haifa’s Iran-targeted Bazan oil refinery

Ministry says 30 months of war underline need for continuing local production of petroleum products rather than dependence on imports, world supply...

17.04.2026 70

The Times of Israel

Sue Surkes

Rare pygmy hippo arrives in Israel to launch breeding program

Female undergoing acclimatization at Hai Park in northern city of Kiryat Motzkin, which has built a special enclosure; male hippo set to arrive in...

16.04.2026 60

The Times of Israel

Sue Surkes

Be’eri begins demolishing homes destroyed on October 7, choosing life over ruins

Gaza-border kibbutz, which lost more than 100 residents, tears down two shattered neighborhoods, starting with house belonging to Gat family, to move...

12.04.2026 50

The Times of Israel

Sue Surkes

‘I live alone and I can’t run’: Elderly from the north become social welfare hot potato

The Tzalir Fund has evacuated and is looking after 1,200 frontline residents, most of them 75 and over, in five hotels. Its funding will end on April...

09.04.2026 70

The Times of Israel

Sue Surkes

Gaza border kibbutz redirects donations to help war-torn north

‘We feel what our brothers and sisters in the north are going through,’ says Kibbutz Nirim, which lost seven residents on October 7

09.04.2026 60

The Times of Israel

Sue Surkes

Weizmann Institute helps map Moon’s shadowy sources of ice

As Artemis II loops around Earth’s satellite and NASA prioritizes ice sampling for a lunar water supply, Israeli and US scientists are examining...

07.04.2026 60

The Times of Israel

Sue Surkes

Israeli lab decodes the building talents of a tropical ant

Scientists at the Weizmann Institute use time-lapse tech and geometry to probe the collective cognitive unit of weaver ants

01.04.2026 60

The Times of Israel

Sue Surkes

Chatbot aims to help rescuers defuse acute anxiety, right after traumatic events

Ben-Gurion University team hopes free trilingual AI application will be adopted widely in Israel, Diaspora, and Arabian Gulf

31.03.2026 70

The Times of Israel

Sue Surkes

In mixed Haifa, weary residents face near-constant Iranian and Hezbollah missile fire

Christian, Muslim and Jewish businesses suffer alike as customers stay away, leaving many gasping for air — and grasping for their next paychecks

26.03.2026 80

The Times of Israel

Sue Surkes

Facing violence on all fronts, Arab Israelis are unprecedentedly open to mental health help

After 18 months of expanded activity in Arabic-speaking towns, the Community Stress Prevention Center in northern Israel starts to see stigmas...

25.03.2026 70

The Times of Israel

Sue Surkes

Road racket killing the mood for birds breeding in half of Israel’s open spaces – study

First-of-its-kind soundscape also suggests that traffic sounds may negatively impact 23% of environmentally protected areas

24.03.2026 80

The Times of Israel

Sue Surkes

Families uprooted from the Gaza border now find themselves in Iranian crosshairs

As many members of communities affected by the Oct. 7 Hamas atrocities are still in temporary living situations, constant missile fire from the Iran...

24.03.2026 70

The Times of Israel

Sue Surkes

Israel has sufficient oil and petroleum reserves, for now — energy expert

But with costs rising, gasoline prices could go up by NIS 1 per liter, or $1.21 per gallon, next month unless Finance Ministry cuts fuel tax to soften...

23.03.2026 90

The Times of Israel

Sue Surkes

Haifa refinery says more missile attack damage found near site, but most production online

Facility will take ‘few days’ to restore; Haifa’s deputy mayor urges government to close refineries as soon as possible: ‘Playing Russian...

20.03.2026 100

The Times of Israel

Sue Surkes

USA Today names Rachel Goldberg‑Polin as a Woman of the Year

Lauding mother of slain American-Israeli hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, paper says her ‘cadence, her analogies, her stories, remind us of what it’s...

19.03.2026 100

The Times of Israel

Sue Surkes

Divine Providence: Serving and former mayors of Rhode Island capital celebrate bar mitzvahs

Brett Smiley and David Cicilline join 11 others in a group ceremony after 18 months of study for those celebrating the rite of passage as adults

19.03.2026 90

The Times of Israel

Sue Surkes

Anxiety symptoms, lack of trust in adults, rising in children as war drags on

Veteran NGO reports marked return of symptoms such as bedwetting, nightmares, apathy and withdrawal in children who had already improved from previous...

18.03.2026 70

The Times of Israel

Sue Surkes

Arab Israelis experiencing higher distress levels in war than Jews — study

Survey undertaken during current Iran war shows Arabs feel greatest losses in economic stability, social connections, emotional resilience, faith and...

18.03.2026 80

The Times of Israel

Sue Surkes

3,500 people evacuated, 10,946 damage claims filed since start of latest Iran war

State comptroller report shows most evacuations from Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Beit Shemesh and Beersheba, with half of damage claims coming from Tel Aviv...

18.03.2026 100

The Times of Israel

Sue Surkes

Foot-and-mouth disease outbreak closes two nature reserves to public

With two wild gazelles already dead, Nature and Parks Authority, Agriculture Ministry, draw line around northern Israel region hit by new strain of...

17.03.2026 70

The Times of Israel

Sue Surkes

Family fundraises for poodles badly hurt in Iranian missile attack

Surgery for Tsili and Gili expected to cost tens of thousands of shekels, and owner Danielle Haroush ‘can barely make ends meet,’ says sister

16.03.2026 60

The Times of Israel

Sue Surkes

War will not interrupt annual migration of millions of birds through Israel — expert

Even the conflict will not stop birds from rushing to get the best nesting spots in their usual breeding areas, says KKL-JNF chief ornithologist

10.03.2026 100

The Times of Israel

Sue Surkes

Traumatized nation: Organizations step into breach left by overwhelmed mental health system

Post-October 7 initiatives sprang up like mushrooms after the rain. Now, not-for-profits are building coalitions, mapping who is providing what to...

10.03.2026 70

The Times of Israel

Sue Surkes

SPNI calls to freeze ‘land grab’ retroactively legalizing Galilee farm buildings

Nature society says Agriculture Ministry plan to legitimize illegal structures on lands equivalent in size to Tel Aviv-Jaffa includes areas in nature...

09.03.2026 70

The Times of Israel

Sue Surkes

Employers of Filipina caretaker killed by Iranian missile remember ‘angel on Earth’

Mary Anne Velasquez de Vera was pregnant with first child when killed by an attack on Tel Aviv. ‘The public should know how special she was,’ says...

02.03.2026 100

The Times of Israel

Sue Surkes

Israeli who survived 9/11 and October 7 now faces down Iranian missiles in Dubai

Chicago native Deborah Benson-Ben Aderet is stranded in the United Arab Emirates while her two daughters weather the war in their southern Israel home

02.03.2026 100

The Times of Israel

Sue Surkes

Not waiting for state okay, 2 kibbutzim buy lockable, bulletproof doors for safe rooms

Armor-plated doors haven’t yet been approved by army for home use, but opting for survival over protocol, Nahal Oz and Kerem Shalom install them...

26.02.2026 100

The Times of Israel

Sue Surkes

The way the kurkar crumbles? As deteriorating cliffs pose a danger, politics bogs down repairs

After part of a coastal rock face collapses in Herzliya, those tasked with protecting these ridges call for cash – and a single coordinating body to...

26.02.2026 100

The Times of Israel

Sue Surkes

Heeding green groups’ demand, High Court orders government to justify climate targets

Following Monday hearing on green groups’ petition, court demands the state define its ‘bottom line’ for emissions cuts, report on climate steps...

24.02.2026 100

The Times of Israel

Sue Surkes

In first, environmental NGOs petition High Court against government’s climate policies

Petitioners demand interim injunction to compel government to explain why emissions cut target for 2030 is 27% and not 43%, as set by the UN to cap...

23.02.2026 100

The Times of Israel

Sue Surkes

Rising Mediterranean pushes groundwater up into Tel Aviv basements

Water Authority’s head of hydrology urges planners, developers to prepare for a rarely discussed climate change threat to urban infrastructure

23.02.2026 100

The Times of Israel

Sue Surkes