israel Archives - YaLa Press

The ‘Last Custodian’ of Jewish Cairo

Author: Waseem Abu Mahadi, Cairo
Published: January 26, 2026
Categories: in Civil Activism, Culture and Heritage, Current Events, Development, Education, Egypt, English, Friendship, Human Rights, Identity, Latest Articles, Life Style, Politics, Tolerance, Travel, כללי
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: #thinkactyala, activism, change, coexistence, conflict, Culture, discovertheregion, education, egypt, family, hope, Humanity, identity, Inspiration, israel, love, MENA, peace, peace activism, peacebuilding, religion, traditions, women, womenforpeace, yala young leaders, yalayoungleaders

The man behind the desk hesitated when he reached the line that listed her religion. He looked from her ID back to her face as if the two did not belong to the same person. Magda Haroun recalls the encounter with a tired smile. It happens often. “They look at my ID and they look […]

Letter to my anti-Zionist friend in the West

Author: Kacper Max
Published: August 3, 2025
Categories: in Conflict & Peacebuilding, Current Events, Identity, Israel, Israel-Palestine, Opinion and Analysis, Politics
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: #thinkactyala, change, conflict, education, identity, israel, IsraelPalestine, peace, thewest, tolerance, yala young leaders, yalayoungleaders, zionism

Why write it? Why try? The complete breakdown of a political and social relationship between the Zionist and anti-Zionist Left after October 7th must belong to the most alarming (and interesting) developments on the Western Left as a whole in recent years. The loss of mutual trust and bilateral allegations of betrayal of values have […]

Whose Responsibility is it?

Author: Ma’ayan
Published: December 24, 2024
Categories: in Civil Activism, Conflict & Peacebuilding, Current Events, Education, English, Human Rights, Israel, Israel-Palestine, Latest Articles
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: #thinkactyala, activism, change, coexistence, conflict, discovertheregion, education, family, hope, Humanity, identity, Inspiration, israel, IsraelPalestine, love, MENA, palestine, peace, peace activism, peacebuilding, tolerance, women, womenforpeace, yala young leaders, yalayoungleaders

“You are not an observer, you are a participant.” ― Thích Nhất Hạnh. There is a moment when you can’t sit still anymore. An energy bustling from within you makes you speak or take a step. You are standing in line and hear a conversation you think could be different if you were part […]

Why I No Longer Talk to Westerns About Peace (And what can be done to start talking about it again)

Author: Anonymous
Published: December 16, 2024
Categories: in Conflict & Peacebuilding, Current Events, English, Friendship, Identity, Israel, Israel-Palestine, Opinion and Analysis, Travel
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: change, conflict, identity, israel, IsraelPalestine, peace, peace activism, peace privilege, peacebuilding, sociology, the west, Travel, war, womenforpeace, yala young leaders, yalayoungleaders

While traveling and especially while hiking, sleeping in hostels or guest houses, you talk to all sorts of people. It was mid-April, probably the best season in Northern Spain, and my first meaningful conversation on the Camino del Norte was with an Irish author, just before descending to a beautiful coastal town named Zarautz. It […]

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Living between Two Countries-Under Stress

Author: By Aseel, Palestine | Opinion
Published: April 11, 2021
Categories: in Conflict & Peacebuilding, Culture and Heritage, Israel, Israel-Palestine, Opinion and Analysis, Palestine, Tolerance
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: conflict, intifada, israel, palestine

The life of a Jerusalemite family after the second intifada “Alaqsa intifada” 2000-2005, During the period of the Palestinian second intifada (Intense Israeli-Palestinian violence period, Palestinians consider it as an uprising against Israel, while Israelis describe it as prolonged terror campaign), Israel used it as a pretext to control all areas in Jerusalem and control […]

Opinion | Arabic in Israel, by Adi Gura

Author: By Adi Gura, Israel
Published: February 1, 2021
Categories: in Arabic, Education, Friendship, Identity, Israel, Life Style, Opinion and Analysis
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: Arabic, Culture, Friendship, israel, Relationship, Society

On the 23rd of March of 2011, a terror attack occurred in Jerusalem on the 74-bus line. I was reminded of this event when I opened my old diary and randomly stopped at the page that mentioned it. When I continued reading, I noticed that the tone of my writing was so emotional, I could […]

Opinion | Élections israéliennes: Ni libres ni justes by Dvir Aviam, Israël

Author: Opinion | Dvir Aviam, Israël
Published: September 10, 2019
Categories: in Current Events, Democracy, French, Israel, Israel-Palestine, Opinion and Analysis, Politics
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: elections, Elections Israeliennes 2019, israel

Les prochaines élections israéliennes sont un exemple de l’érosion continue de la démocratie dans la région. Bien que certains développements représentent un espoir pour la jeunesse, les élections ont mis en doute la prétention israélienne d’être la «seule démocratie du Moyen-Orient». Pour le lecteur non-informé, voici un bref résumé – les élections actuelles […]

Salomon Tekah, la colère légitime by Khloe Perla Portheault

Author: by Khloe Perla Portheault
Published: July 2, 2019
Categories: in Civil Activism, Current Events, Democracy, French, Human Rights, Iran, Israel, Tolerance
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: Ethiopian Community, israel, justice, manifestations, racism, violences policières, סלומון טקה

C’est la seconde fois cette année qu’un policier israélien tue l’un de ses concitoyens. Je corrige en ajoutant une précision : c’est la seconde fois cette année qu’un policier tue un concitoyen de la communauté israélo-éthiopienne ! Autrement dit, un israélien noir. Salomon Tekah avait 19 ans, il vivait avec sa famille à Kyriat Haïm, […]

A Greater Journey by Christina W., Israel

Author: By Christina W., Israel
Published: August 8, 2018
Categories: in Culture and Heritage, English, Friendship, Human Rights, Identity, Israel, Latest Articles
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: #crossculturalexchange, death, Humanity, India, Inspiration, israel, life, story, Travel

It was a long, hot day, very typical for southern India at this time of year. By the time the sun rose over the palm trees and the pink roofs of the Ashram, hundreds of people were already roaming the small dusty roads on their way to breakfast, coming together for the morning chant and […]

The Last Boy by Arik Sharga, Israel

Author: By Arik Sharga, Israel
Published: July 30, 2018
Categories: in Conflict & Peacebuilding, Culture and Heritage, English, Friendship, Identity, Israel
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: #thinkactyala, family, identity, israel, traditions, YaLa Citizen Journalist

I loved my grandpa. He didn’t talk much, but when he did, he was honest and precise. He was as reliable as a human being can be. When I was 5, my parents divorced, and grandpa was like a father for me. In his youth, he survived the siege of Leningrad during World War II, […]

Neighbors on vacation by Chaitze – Israel

Published: March 6, 2018
Categories: in English, Human Rights
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: Friendship, israel, paletsine, sinai, Travel

Rivka and I had planned a vacation to Sinai (Egypt), but, the day before we were scheduled to leave, the Israeli government closed the Sinai borders due to a threat they had received. So, there went our vacation. There went our plans, and there went our money. I was sulking in my misery and self-pity […]

Meeting my other by Shelly Dotan, Israel

Published: March 6, 2018
Categories: in Conflict & Peacebuilding, English, Human Rights, Identity
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: arabisraeli, busride, fear, israel, IsraelPalestine, otherside, palestine, Stereotypes, Travel, trip, vietnam, youth

When I was 22, I traveled to South-East Asia for almost 6 months. It’s very common for young Israelis to travel to remote places of the globe after finishing their army service. As the army is mandatory in Israel, many of us feel the urge to look for some kind of freedom after two or […]

What to do when your town is on fire? by Nadezha, Israel

Published: March 6, 2018
Categories: in Civil Activism, English, Human Rights
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: 2016, civicactivism, fire, help, helping, Humanity, israel, solidarity

My story is based on the events of November 2016, when a wave of fires (both wildfires and urban fires) began in Israel from the south as the Dead Sea area to Nahariya. The largest fire occurred in Haifa, where 527 apartments were destroyed completely 77 buildings, leaving 1,600 people homeless. 75,000 residents, about a […]

Neighbors are way stronger than politicians by Jonathan Perry – Israel

Published: February 13, 2018
Categories: in English, Human Rights, Identity
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: desert, friendships, hike, israel, jordan, neighbors, Travel, wadialhasa, youth

“Neighbors are way stronger than politicians”, is what I thought moments after we left. It was an extremely hot day in the beginning of July 2012. I was 21 years old, and I had decided to go on an adventure with two friends – to hike throughout Jordan. Doing so was (and probably still is) […]

Droplets of Shame by Karin Attia, Israel

Author: By Karin Attia, Israel
Published: February 5, 2018
Categories: in Current Events, English, Friendship, Human Rights, Identity, Tolerance, Travel
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: citizenoftheworld, dialogue, huanity, iraq, israel, Kurdistan, MiddleEast, occupation, peacebuilding, understanding

For as long as I can remember, I’ve constantly qualified my identity. Israeli-Moroccan, American-Israeli, born in Israel, but raised in California as if I wanted to remove myself from my birthplace, from my heritage, from my grandparents refuge. Constantly putting a distance between my born identity and not wanting to be labeled as an occupier. […]

Demonstration in Tel Aviv by Yahel Galili – Israel [PHOTO ESSAY]

Published: January 31, 2018
Categories: in Civil Activism, Conflict & Peacebuilding, Current Events, English
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: demonstration, future, israel, palestine, peace, peacenow, rabinsquare, rally, Tel Aviv, twostatesolution

To mark 50 years of Israel’s ongoing occupation of the West Bank, a large rally was held in Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square. Left wing politicians, artists and organization leaders got on stage to speak for peace and against the current government’s choice not to promote it. Further captions for each individual photo: 1- Largely unpopular […]

My Journey towards education and humanity by Sarah, Egypt

Author: by Sarah, Egypt
Published: January 31, 2018
Categories: in Conflict & Peacebuilding, Education, Egypt, Human Rights
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: #thinkactyala, change, education, egypt, facebook, hope, israel, learning, MENA, online, palestine, peace, peacebuilding, yala, yalacampaign, yalayoungleaders, youth

YaLa Young Leaders changed me. When I noticed the Facebook ads for the page the first time, I was about 22 years old and in my 6th year of medical school. It was interesting; the page was suggested by Facebook because one person I was following liked the page. I think it was a good […]

Life is Priceless by A, Gaza, Palestine

Published: January 31, 2018
Categories: in Conflict & Peacebuilding, Israel-Palestine
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: #endviolence, #thinkactyala, army fear, gaza, israel, violence conflict, war, yalacampaign

6 AM, on the fifteenth of January, 2009. It was a very cold morning. My family and I woke up to the terrifying noises of the Israeli bulldozers. At first, we were not totally aware of the situation. As far as we knew, the Israeli occupation had left Gaza a long time ago. However, the […]

Death and All His Friends – YaLa in Jordan

Published: January 21, 2018
Categories: in Conflict & Peacebuilding, English, Friendship, Human Rights, Jordan
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: conflict, enemies, family, fear, israel, IsraelPalestine, israelpalestineconflict, occupation, palestine, peace, tragedy, trust, understanding, yala, yalayoungleaders, youth

Nothing prepares you for that moment when someone looks you in the eye and tells you they have lost a loved one to this war. No psychology degree can teach you how to keep your lungs and heart going when you know you’ve got nothing… Nothing to say or do that could bring their mother, […]

On Being Foreign by Uri Eytan, Israel

Published: January 10, 2018
Categories: in Culture and Heritage, English, Human Rights, Identity
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: communication, experience, foreign, France, French, Friendship, israel, Language, speaking

Thoughts About Language On my first night in France, I dreamt about my childhood. It was a lively, tangible dream, intimately related to the deepest aspects of my personal identity. The details had all but faded away by now, but I can still remember sunrays shimmering in the fresh Jerusalem air, the feeling of another […]

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