menu_open
Diana Bletter

Diana Bletter

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

We use cookies to provide some features and experiences in QOSHE

More information  .  Close

‘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 10

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 60

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 10

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

‘Overlooked’ grief: October 7 massacre left 2,185 bereft siblings, first study shows

Hebrew University researcher says there’s a ‘hierarchy of grief’; urges government to give mourning siblings the same benefits as widows,...

15.10.2024 50

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

In first, doctoral candidate enlists foragers across Israel to help map mushroom DNA

There are over 1,000 species of fungi in the Holy Land; what started as one scientist’s hobby has mushroomed into a collective effort on a scale...

15.10.2024 90

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Toronto Jewish school targeted by gunfire during Yom Kippur, in 2nd attack in months

Trudeau says he’s ‘very disturbed’ by incident, which comes amid dramatic rise in antisemitic attacks in the country as war rages in Middle East

13.10.2024 30

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

For the Southern Lebanese Army’s second generation, Nasrallah’s death is a ‘breakthrough’

Former SLA members refuse to speak in the face of reprisals, but these young Lebanese-Israelis believe it’s their mission to raise the curtain on...

13.10.2024 80

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Fortitude under fire: Farmers along the northern border stay planted despite the war

Undaunted by Hezbollah’s rockets and drones, a group of war-hardened farmers refuses to evacuate from Moshav Liman, a long-standing cooperative...

01.10.2024 60

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Young kids, parents still face heightened stress a year into the war, think tank says

Taub Center for Social Policy Studies urges more support for spouses and kids of reservists, displaced families and Arab parents of young kids, amid...

30.09.2024 50

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

On World Lung Day, Israeli groups highlight plight of hostages who ‘lack even air’

Medical assocations seek to bring attention to captives held in Hamas tunnels under Gaza, where a freed hostage recalled ‘we didn’t have oxygen…...

26.09.2024 50

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Fear and uncertainty: As war escalates, northern residents feel there’s nowhere to go

Mateh Asher Regional Council head says he is worried about the war’s emotional toll on residents; ‘This isn’t normal life,’ says one evacuated...

23.09.2024 20

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

North under siege: Rockets cause hospitals to nix procedures, schools and beaches to close

‘Most people live in stress and worry,’ one Safed resident says with cities on war footing; ‘My blood pressure goes up every time I hear a...

23.09.2024 70

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

UN chief calls death and destruction in Gaza the worst he’s seen during tenure

Guterres says global body ready to monitor potential ceasefire but doubts Israel would agree, urges two-state solution to end Israeli-Palestinian...

10.09.2024 80

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

After Hezbollah strike on Nahariya, residents say government abandoned them

Drone hits apartment of members of urban kibbutz who moved to the city out of idealism; now they say they have to deal with their own shock before...

10.09.2024 40

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Sunflowers dance together to balance sunlight and shade, Israeli researchers say

Tel Aviv University team explains how the plants grow close together and move in zigzag patterns for optimal growth in a collective ‘dance party’

23.08.2024 70

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Doubling down on unlikely success story, Arab-Israeli couple take med-tech giant to Jenin

Short on cash but long on grit, Reem and Imad Younis co-founded their company Alpha Omega in 1993 to make a ‘brain Waze.’ Now they’re taking a...

19.08.2024 50

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

In northern Israel, midwives prepare expectant mothers for birth during war

With ‘First Contractions,’ expectant mothers get ready for worst-case scenarios: delivering their babies safely at home if they can’t get to a...

18.08.2024 50

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Weeklong retreat in Montana ranch aims to heal IDF vets from war traumas

Israeli nonprofit formed after Oct. 7 takes combat soldiers far off the grid to a homestead where Tel Aviv and Harvard researchers offer techniques to...

16.08.2024 50

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Researcher warns of whooping cough spike as disease spreads throughout Israel

Infectious disease expert says Israel is in the middle of an outbreak that occurs every four years; Health Ministry urges vaccination for pregnant...

06.08.2024 20

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Khamenei endorses Iran’s president-elect Pezeshkian ahead of Tuesday’s swearing-in

Reformist thanks supreme leader and voters for ‘heavy burden’ of presidency, though ultimate authority remains with Khamenei

28.07.2024 20

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Northern hospitals model coexistence as they prepare for a third Lebanon War

Directors at Ziv Hospital in Safed and Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya stockpile for worst-case scenarios while coordinating responses with Magen...

28.07.2024 40

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Boy diagnosed with rare ‘brain-eating amoeba’ is in critical condition

Patient presented with symptoms after swimming at a Tiberias water park, where a man who died of the infection a few weeks ago was exposed to the rare...

25.07.2024 20

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Child diagnosed with brain-eating amoeba weeks after man’s death; visited same waterpark

Health Ministry orders closure of Gai Beach in Sea of Galilee until further notice after second case of brain infection caused by Naegleria fowleri...

25.07.2024 10

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Study finds eating Israeli Bamba drastically cuts peanut allergy risk in young kids

Confirming a hunch, researchers prove kids who eat Israel’s popular peanut snack develop resistance to peanut allergy, according to study in The...

24.07.2024 10

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Disease expert warns polio outbreak in Gaza could spread to Israel

Dr. Lior Nesher says that it is ‘almost impossible’ to stop the spread of the virus in aquifers; unvaccinated children most at risk

23.07.2024 40

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Israel LGBTQ+ Medical Society launches course on transgender-friendly protocols

25 family physicians learn how to help trans patients at the first-ever workshop in Israel; endocrinologist expert says wait for hormone treatments...

23.07.2024 30

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

IDF to give booster vaccinations to soldiers after polio virus found in Gaza sewage

Health Ministry says it will monitor situation in Israel; no cases of polio have been detected so far in the Gaza Strip, according to the World Health...

21.07.2024 10

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Evidence of polio found in Gaza sewage samples

Health Ministry says findings ‘raise concerns about the presence of the virus’; professor urges ‘regional collaboration to stop the...

19.07.2024 10

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Israeli college student compiles unblinking guide to dark trail of Hamas massacre

Foreign Ministry to distribute to embassies and visiting delegations 23-year-old’s English-language book of uncensored testimonies from October...

19.07.2024 20

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Health Ministry says 440 people diagnosed with West Nile fever, 32 dead

Virus can be deadly to the elderly and those with weakened immune systems; 80% of infected show no symptoms; ministry urges vigilance

15.07.2024 10

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Falling trust in government leading to weakened national resilience, researchers say

Nine months into war, study at Tel Aviv University and Tel Hai college sees potential harm to Israel’s ability to cope with future crises

15.07.2024 30

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

‘An insatiable curiosity’: Reservist killed in Gaza fighting gets posthumous PhD

Widow, parents of Zechariah Haber, 32, collect Tel Aviv University diploma; biologist sought to improve crop productivity in harsh climatic...

13.07.2024 50

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Parents of female hostages urge government and mediators to finalize deal with Hamas

At virtual press conference, parents of four captives call on international community to fight for their children’s freedom, say war ‘will...

10.07.2024 20

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Man dies after contracting ‘brain-eating’ amoeba, in Israel’s 2nd-ever recorded case

26-year-old patient presented with symptoms caused by rare brain infection last week after swimming at a Tiberias beach

07.07.2024 20

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

After fleeing Ukraine war, wife-husband artist duo paint bomb shelters near Lebanon

Six miles from the Lebanese border, new immigrants Lidia and Igor Katliarski bring life to concrete havens by covering them with murals, giving locals...

05.07.2024 20

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

In Israeli first, doctor uses metal detector to find shrapnel in wounded soldiers

Low-tech innovation resulting in far quicker treatment earns surgeon Eyal Sela praise from Galilee Medical Center head, who hails initiative as...

02.07.2024 50

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Health Ministry says 81 diagnosed with West Nile fever, 7 have died in outbreak

64 hospitalized with virus, six of whom are on ventilators; 20% experiencing symptoms including fever, headaches and body aches; only 1% have...

28.06.2024 40

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Israeli researchers chance upon new type of glass that can fix its own cracks

By dropping peptide powder in water, Tel Aviv University-led team says it developed a material that is easier to make, more durable and more...

27.06.2024 10

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Hospital confirms death of two women in their 80s from West Nile virus

Beilinson Hospital says test results show the two women died of the virus; Health Ministry says there are now 32 confirmed cases, a sharp rise from...

24.06.2024 20

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

After doctor’s severe eye injury, physicians urge police to stop using water cannons

Tal Weissbach, a doctor volunteering at an anti-government protest in Jerusalem, may suffer permanent vision loss after hit by a spray seemingly...

18.06.2024 20

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Domestic violence rates nearly doubled since Oct. 7. Eight women were murdered in 2024

Experts at conference on femicide say that it’s not the more widespread availability of weapons that is killing women, it’s the...

08.06.2024 50

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

These Israeli track runners at Oklahoma State are quick to defend their homeland

Representing the Jewish state from afar as fallout from Oct. 7 continues at home and abroad, Adisu Guadie and Sivan Auerbach report a warm welcome in...

31.05.2024 40

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Chaplain duo at Soroka hospital treat patients spiritually wounded by October 7

The country’s second-largest hospital has taken in some 3,000 people hurt during the Hamas atrocities and their aftermath, but as the clergy can...

17.05.2024 40

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Inspired by Holocaust survivor, group gathers massive testimony to fight Oct. 7 denial

Comprised of filmmakers, scholars and mental health workers, Edut 710 serves the dual purpose of helping victims cope with trauma and documenting...

29.04.2024 70

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Schools and students displaced in the north learn to deal with chaos sown by war

Finding new, safer locations with bomb shelters and operating short-staffed are just some of the challenges school administrators face under Hezbollah...

16.04.2024 7

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

As Hezbollah lobs rockets from Lebanon, Druze forager continues traditional fungi hunt

Nadim Faris’s expertise crosses borders and connects nations as Syrians and Jordanians ask him to bestow Arabic monikers on the region’s...

13.04.2024 20

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Relatives of 21-year-old family breadwinner Bar Kupershtein call for his release

Over five months since their son’s abduction from the Supernova festival as he tried to rescue fellow attendees, the young Holon native’s...

20.03.2024 30

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Israeli scientists harness molecule to treat rare disease common in Ashkenazim

Research team isolates GHF-201 to fight APBD, a nervous system disorder mostly found in Jews of Eastern European descent, as patients eagerly await...

17.03.2024 20

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Chess tournament makes mates of Arabs, Jews and Druze amid Gaza war

In late January, the Israeli Open Championship in Acre brought all of Israel’s diverse sectors together to battle it out on the board, fostering...

10.02.2024 60

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Unable to dig, researchers look to cosmic rays to unlock Jerusalem’s ancient underworld

A Tel Aviv University team is using muon detectors to track powerful particles, hoping to build a 3D map of undiscovered tunnels, chambers and...

03.02.2024 70

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

346787302df588feaa2d05696ee51b00