In Jerusalem, I became the AP’s unofficial regional culture andentertainment reporter in addition to my other duties. Here is a selection of some of the stories and features I have written about movies, TV, music and books in Israel.
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel’s latest hit TV series takes the viewers straight into the heart of the country’s archenemy Iran. “Tehran” tells the story of Tamar Rabinyan, a young Mossad operative tasked with hacking into and disabling an…
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli top model Bar Refaeli signed a plea bargain agreement with authorities on Tuesday to settle a long-standing tax evasion case against her and her family. The deal will require Refaeli to serve nine months of community…
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The Netherlands won the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv Saturday, with Duncan Laurence’s doleful piano ballad “Arcade” crowned champion of Europe’s annual music extravaganza. The 25-year-old was tapped as an early front-runner before…
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s winner of last year’s Eurovision song contest said Monday there was no place for boycott calls of this year’s competition in Tel Aviv, saying that to snub such a popular world event celebrating diversity would be…
JERUSALEM (AP) — A long-hidden trove of unpublished works by Franz Kafka could soon be revealed following a decade-long battle over his literary estate that has drawn comparisons to some of his surreal tales. A district court in Zurich upheld…
JERUSALEM (AP) — Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot has come to the rescue of a fellow Israeli celebrity in a spat with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Gadot, who typically shies away from politics, is rallying behind Rotem Sela, one of…
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel’s embattled peace movement bid a final farewell Monday to one of its most prominent figures, the renowned author Amos Oz, at a memorial service that tried to restore hope in a political climate that…
JERUSALEM (AP) — Sacha Baron Cohen is at it again. After tapping into his familiarity with Israel and his fluency in Hebrew to shape previous eccentric personas such as Borat and Bruno, the Jewish comedian has created his most stereotypical…
JERUSALEM (AP) — When the Israeli creators of the Netflix show “Fauda” first came up with its concept, they doubted whether an action series based on the never-ending Mideast conflict would make for must-see TV. “Why would somebody want to…
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Thousands of Israelis took to the streets early Sunday to celebrate their country’s victory in the Eurovision Song Contest. Fans flooded Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square in front of City Hall, with some euphorically jumping into…
JERUSALEM (AP) — For a country that takes pride in even the smallest successes of its international celebrities, the debut of Wonder Woman has sparked an Israeli lovefest for homegrown hero Gal Gadot. A huge billboard overlooking Tel Aviv’s main…
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israeli rocker Aviv Geffen broke into “The Hope Song,” a signature hit he wrote after the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin that is often referred to as the Israeli version of John Lennon’s “Imagine.”…
JERUSALEM (AP) — Oscar-winning actress Helen Mirren said Wednesday she was a “believer” in Israel and rejected efforts to boycott it. Mirren showered Israeli artists with praise and said she opposed both the efforts by pro-Palestinian groups to boycott them…
JERUSALEM (AP) — In her feature film directorial debut, Academy Award winning actress Natalie Portman brings to life the autobiographical novel of celebrated Israeli writer Amos Oz about his youth during the Jewish state’s founding years. But in many ways,…