Gabriella Jacobs, at The Blogs

Gabriella Jacobs

May 31, 2026, 9:07 AM

Confessions of Israel’s Least Enthusiastic Domestic Tourist

Camel lookout in Mitzpe Ramon (Wikimedia Commons)

There is a certain type of person who, upon moving to a new country, throws herself into learning its geography, its neighborhoods, its hidden corners. She buses somewhere new every weekend. She has a favorite hummus place in four...

May 27, 2026, 8:24 PM

Shavuot here and there

By the time you read this, Shavuot may have passed, and I will hopefully still be asleep recovering from it. Shavuot may honestly be the only holiday I hands-down like better in Israel than in America, with one minor exception...

May 8, 2026, 11:30 AM

Café culture: Part of the Zionist dream

Emek Refaim Street in Jerusalem. (Nati Shohat, Flash 90)

The best part of this week was Jerusalem cafés. On Monday, I met an old friend along the Mesila. For anyone who hasn’t walked there recently, the entire Baka/Katamon area is currently experiencing what appears to be a never-ending archaeological...

Apr 30, 2026, 9:35 AM

Conversational Heblish. Passable?

What qualifies someone as an olah chadasha? Last week I suggested it might involve paperwork, perseverance, and a teudat olah (that still hasn’t materialized). This week, I’d like to propose another Israeliness barometer: whether or not your husband has...

Apr 24, 2026, 3:03 PM

Misrad Hapanim: Diary of an Olah

What qualifies someone as an “olah chadasha”? Is it deciding to move to Israel? Actually making the move? Living through culture shock, language barriers, and the absence of familiarity and family? Is it the struggle to build a life...

About Me

Gabriella Jacobs moved from New York to Israel in 2023. She is a multimedia journalist at The Times of Israel, a BA student at Tel Aviv University, double-majoring in Middle Eastern Studies and Philosophy, and also works as a teaching assistant for the Tikvah Fund’s gap-year program. She lives in Jerusalem with her husband.