Judy Siegel-Itzkovich

Judy Siegel-Itzkovich is the health and science reporter at The Jerusalem Post. She has been writing for the paper since February 1973.

She has published over 31,000 news stories, features and columns as a Post journalist – more than any other journalist in the world. A Master's degree graduate of Columbia University in New York who made aliyah immediately after completing her studies and within weeks joined the paper, she has a strong background in biology but received her BA and MA in political science because she could not bear to kill animals for lab experiments.

She ravenously reads professional medical and science journals. She was awarded an honorary doctorate from Ben-Gurion University – the first Israeli newspaper reporter to do so – in November 2015 and has received numerous awards such as the Hadassah Women’s Organization Women of Distinction Award in the Knesset, Yeshiva University in Israel’s community service award and Tishkofet’s public service award. She is also a fluent English and Hebrew translator and editor in her specialized fields.


After locating the exact epilepsy focus in her brain, a pacemaker was implanted that detects abnormal electrical activity, neutralizing it before it becomes an epileptic seizure.

Israel performs its first brain pacemaker surgery to stop seizures in epilepsy patient

Weight Loss

Midlife weight loss shows metabolic benefits but sparks brain inflammation in BGU - study

THE AI revolution is driven by the ability to perform human-level tasks – reshaping industries.

AI will transform higher education and employment - is Israel ready?


Hebrew U team opens ‘barn’ door to affordable lab-grown beef as cow cells defy aging

Cultivated meat is grown directly from animal cells in a controlled environment. This may scare some, but it’s a safe and established technology that has been in development for over 100 years.

FLUORESCENT MICROSCOPY of immortalized beef cells, mitochondria labeled green.

Reflexology can reduce patients' anxiety before undergoing surgery, Israeli study finds

Also known as “zone therapy,” reflexology is an ancient practice that began in Egypt, China, and India and made its way to the West a century ago.

DR. SHMUEL ATTIAS treats a patient with reflexology.

Food self-sufficiency unfeasible for Israel, new research shows

While Israel could produce enough plant-based foods for survival, full self-sufficiency would come at a staggering cost and be reliant on vegetative food production.

FARMERS AT Moshav Sde Nitzan, in the northern Negev.

War, politics fuels domestic violence and aggression in family, new study finds

Exposure to war and political violence doesn’t just leave people with post-traumatic stress; it also fuels aggression within families, impacting children’s behavior long after the conflict ends.

Exposure to conflict operates as a source of real persistent stress and increases aggressiveness between parents.

TAU researchers develop groundbreaking gene therapy to treat hearing, balance disabilities

“These findings highlight the potential of self-complementary AAVs to reduce dose requirements, minimize toxicity, and broaden clinical use of inner-ear therapies," said the head researcher.

RONI HAHN (left) and Prof. Karen Avraham.

Thousands of physicians, scientists have abandoned Israel: How do we bring them back?

ScienceAbroad is an Israel-based nonprofit organization that harnesses the power of senior Israeli scientists living abroad, inspiring connections with local communities and international scientists.

CAP: NADAV DOUANI, CEO of ScienceAbroad (left) and Dr. Lior Shaltiel, CEO of NurExone Biologic.

Jerusalem College of Technology: Balancing academic education, religion, and IDF service

JCT’s new technical haredi hesder yeshiva, an offshoot of Beit Midrash Derech Chaim, is geared toward haredi students who combine Torah learning, academic studies, and then military service.

An ultra-Orthodox (haredi) student is seen at the Jerusalem College of Technology.

Israeli scientists discover feline herpes can be treated with human coldsore medication

Treatment of FHV-1 ocular disease is challenging; until now, it has been treated less successfully with a pill, but it had to be forced on cats, and they didn’t like it.

CATS TREATED successfully with Fenlips cream after FHV-1 infection.

Tricking the mind about bariatric surgery: A first-of-its-kind study into hypnotic weightloss

Patients suffering from obesity wore hospital gowns and lay on the operating table, but instead of anesthesia, they underwent an experience of imaginary gastric bypass surgery using hypnosis.

MEDICAL PSYCHOLOGIST Maya Mizrahi with a patient undergoing hypnosis instead of real bariatric surgery.

Technion scientists create MOLLUSC-inspired adhesive that seals wounds in seconds

Molluscs are the largest group of marine animals, comprising about 23% of all creatures living in saltwater environments.

DR. SHADY FARAH and PhD student Qi Wu.