Jerusalem Report

War reshapes Israel-Diaspora ties: Global Jewish leaders assess challenges ahead - from the editor

Israel and the Diaspora are closer and more strained than ever. After October 7, rising antisemitism, shifting politics, and hard questions are reshaping a relationship at a critical crossroads

|ByRUTH MARKS EGLASH
War and rising antisemitism have deepened the stakes of the Israel–Diaspora relationship, forcing Jewish communities worldwide to confront shared vulnerability and responsibility.
Voice of the People council members during the organization’s in-person conference held last year in Haifa. The 150-member council with Jewish leaders from six continents was set up by Israel’s President Isaac Herzog to foster dialogue and create actionable strategis for challenges facing the Jewish

Solidarity is not a strategy: Israel-Diaspora relations need structured partnership - opinion

How Israel and Jewish communities worldwide can move from instinctive support to structured partnership

|BySHIREL DAGAN-LEVY
Outgoing Hebrew University president Prof. Asher Cohen.

Prof. Asher Cohen reflects on leading Jerusalem's Hebrew University through war, crises - interview

After eight eventful years leading Hebrew University, Professor Asher Cohen discusses crisis, continuity, and the role of academia in uncertain times

|ByRUTH MARKS EGLASH
A crowd of people observe the lighting of the world’s largest Hanukkah menorah near Grand Army Plaza in New York City.

You can't beat Chabad, so why not join them? - comment

Instead of fighting Chabad, Jewish organizations and communities worldwide should consider joining forces with it

|ByZVIKA KLEIN

From Ukraine to Gaza, war's ecological toll sparks ecocide accountability push

As conflicts from Ukraine to Gaza ravage ecosystems, momentum is building to recognize environmental destruction as a war crime

JANUARY 27, 2026BySTEPHANIE L. FREID
Plumes of smoke rise after the IDF carried out house demolitions in the northern Gaza Strip in January. It is believed that between 80,000 and 200,000 tons of munitions were fired or dropped on Gaza over two years of war.

Environmental cooperation emerges as cornerstone for Middle East peace, experts say

Shared environmental needs could succeed in creating stability in the Middle East, experts say

JANUARY 27, 2026BySTEPHANIE L. FREID
An aerial view of the Jordan River flowing along the border between Israel and Jordan. Environmental experts are pushing for a plan that could build environmentally sustainable interdependence among countries in the region.

Israel's overlooked challenge: Environmental damage from two years of war - from the editor

As the war winds down, Israel faces a quieter crisis – environmental damage from Gaza to the Dead Sea, alongside long-neglected ecological failures now demanding urgent attention

JANUARY 27, 2026ByRUTH MARKS EGLASH
Visitors walk across salt formations along the receding shoreline of the Dead Sea, a stark sign of the region’s growing environmental crisis.

Seeing sinkholes: How the Dead Sea’s collapse became a tourist draw

How one of the region’s worst environmental disasters has become a popular tourist excursion

JANUARY 27, 2026ByRUTH MARKS EGLASH
Hikers trek past a cavernous sinkhole on the shores of the Dead Sea near Ein Gedi.

Gaza facing environmental catastrophe as 60 million tons of toxic war debris buried under rubble

As Gazans struggle to recover from the war – trash, sewage, and toxic debris are creating an environmental catastrophe

JANUARY 27, 2026ByDANA BEN-SHIMON
A man searches through piles of garbage in Gaza City.

Israel’s freshwater balancing act: The Kinneret under strain

Intensive management has saved the Kinneret from crisis, but rising salinity and ecological change pose growing risks

JANUARY 27, 2026BySAM HALPERN
An aerial view of the Kinneret. To the casual observer, the lake, also known as the Sea of Galilee, appears to be a rare environmental success story in an era of climate uncertainty.

'Pollution without borders': Gaza sewage flows north, contaminating Israeli waters

The collapse of the sewage infrastructure in Gaza is not just a local humanitarian crisis but an environmental threat to Israel and beyond

JANUARY 27, 2026ByPATRICIA GOLAN
Tents sheltering displaced Palestinians in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.

Israel’s untapped power: Sun, water, and true energy security - opinion

Israel’s foolhardy hyper-dependence on expensive, vulnerable, and explosive gas rigs will be the subject of a state commission of inquiry.

JANUARY 27, 2026ByYOSEF I. ABRAMOWITZ
Former president Shimon Peres challenged the writer (pictured left) to power the Arava using 100% solar energy.

Inside Israel's media war: Who shapes the narrative now?

As Israel moves to overhaul its media system, journalists, lawmakers, and critics clash over power, press freedom, and the future of Israeli democracy

JANUARY 13, 2026ByRUTH MARKS EGLASH
Israel's media in the eye of the storm.

Media revolution or power grab? Inside Shlomo Karhi’s Israeli media overhaul - interview

Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi says it’s time to open up Israel’s media market, a move some say is political and will weaken freedom of the press.

JANUARY 13, 2026ByKESHET NEEV, RUTH MARKS EGLASH
Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi attends the Special Committee for the Communications Law at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament on December 9, 2025