I am a Canadian-Israeli freelance journalist, based in Tel Aviv. I write about everything from art exhibitions and Tel Aviv clubs to suicide bombings and Palestinian refugee camps. In between I try – with intermittent success – to illustrate the complex human dimension of the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Before moving to Israel in 2000, I lived in New York for 10 years – studying, working and generally inhaling that incredibly exciting city. But now Tel Aviv, which I think is one of the most dynamic and fascinating cities in the world, has captured my heart. I blog about life in Israel at On the Face.
Latest posts by Lisa N. Goldman
This week in Israel: War?!
Israel is at war and the Israeli blogosphere is on fire. There are so many posts to mention that I can hardly think where to start. Since the events of the past week turned Israelis’ reality upside down literally overnight they are trying to make sense of it all –...
This week in Israel: what goin’ on?
Well, it seems that not a lot of note is going on in Israel these days. That, at least, appears to be the tacit consensus of the Israeli blogosphere. In the absence of major events like elections, suicide bombings and important holidays, local bloggers are turning to more prosaic issues....
This week in Israel: Passover and a suicide bombing
I was planning to write this week's post about how Israelis are observing the Passover holiday, which began last Wednesday night with the festival seder meal, but unfortunately there was a suicide bombing this afternoon in Tel Aviv so I'll start with that, followed by some links to posts about...
This week in Israel: Passover and a Suicide Bombing
I was planning to write this week's post about how Israelis are observing the Passover holiday, which began last Wednesday night with the festival seder meal, but unfortunately there was a suicide bombing this afternoon in Tel Aviv so I'll start with that, followed by some links to posts about...
This week in Israel: after the elections, putting together a coalition
As predicted, Ehud Olmert‘s Kadima won the most Knesset (parliament) seats in last week's national elections, with 29 of the 120 seats. Likud, headed by Benjamin (Bibi) Netanyahu was crushed: it won only 11 seats, compared to 38 in the 2003 elections. Labour, headed by Amir Peretz, came in next...
This week in Israel: today is election day
Voting in the Israeli elections. Tel Aviv, March 28. (Photo by Lisa Goldman. Click to enlarge.) Israelis go to the polls to elect a new government today. The media have been screaming since 10 a.m. that voter turnout is at an all-time low, even though the polls don't close until...
This week in Israel: elections, a prison siege and bird flu
Israel’s national elections are just over a week away and Israeli bloggers are finally (finally!) showing some interest in the subject – sort of. The thing is, though, that most are just writing about why they are unable to muster enthusiasm for any of the parties and why they are...
This week in Israel: elections in three weeks? (yawn)
So here we are, three weeks before national elections – and nobody in the Israeli blogosphere has anything to say. This, despite all the upheavals of the past few months: The surprise election of Amir Peretz, the former leader of Histadrut, Israel's largest labour union, as leader of the Labour...
This week in Israel: election campaigns, a kidnapping in France and more
Israel is now six weeks before general elections, and the campaigning is starting to heat up. Shai Tsur of Shaister has a concise and intelligent roundup of the campaign platforms of the major parties. He writes that he likes the ad campaign of Meretz, a leftist Zionist party, the best....
Israel: the political drama continues
For the third week in a row, domestic politics is the biggest story in Israel. The political landscape continues to change rapidly, with each day bringing a new and surprising development. However they feel about the politicians, the consensus seems to be that one thing is certain: these are interesting...
This week in Israel: a “political earthquake” and lots of fun stuff – not just politics
This week, much of the Israeli blogosphere is in a tizzy over what the media lost no time in dubbing a “political earthquake”: Ariel Sharon has left the hawkish Likud party, which he helped found and has virtually defined for years; he has formed a new centrist political party that...
Sympathy for Jordan, a political surprise and rallying for Rabin's memory
This week’s post focuses on reactions in the Israeli blogosphere to three events: the suicide bombings in Amman; the election of Amir Peretz as head of the Labour Party; and the rally in Tel Aviv that marked 10 years since the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin. There is also a roundup...
This week in Israel: Remembering Yitzhak Rabin
On November 4, 1995, following a peace rally that is estimated to have attracted nearly 500,000 people to Tel Aviv’s central square, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated. Rabin’s violent death is commonly regarded by the vast majority of Israelis as one of the most tragic and momentous events in...
First post from the Israeli blogosphere
Israelis who blog in English are mostly native speakers who immigrated to the country as adults. They include non-Jews as well as Jews, represent a wide range of religious beliefs – from secular to Orthodox – and their political opinions run the gamut from right wing to left, with everything...