Larry Luxner, at The Blogs

Dec 31, 2024, 3:22 PM

Alexander Ben Zvi: An Israeli diplomat’s 2025 predictions

Alexander Ben Zvi served as Israel's ambassador to Russia from 2020 to 2023. (Photo by Larry Luxner)

Russia won’t start World War III, antisemitism will continue to worsen across Western Europe, and except for Argentina, Israel is losing support throughout once-sympathetic Latin America. So says Alexander Ben Zvi, who retired exactly one year ago after an illustrious...

Sep 18, 2024, 5:19 PM

Israel, Cyprus mark painful anniversaries at joint event

A montage of photos on display during a Sept. 17 reception at the Tel Aviv Hilton commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Turkish invasion and ongoing occupation of Cyprus. (Photo by Larry Luxner)

Tuesday night’s gala reception at the Tel Aviv Hilton was billed as a joyous occasion to mark 64 years of Cypriot independence from Great Britain. Overshadowing the Sept. 17 gathering, however, were two sad reminders of ongoing strife: the upcoming...

Jul 3, 2024, 3:00 PM

In wake of Gaza tragedy, Thai diplomat wins coveted award

Yitzhak Eldan, president of the Ambassadors' Club of Israel, congratulates Pannabha Chandraramya, Thailand's ambassador to Israel, on her selection as the club's 'Diplomat of the Year.' (ACI)

HERZLIYA—The Hamas bloodbath on Oct. 7 that sparked Israel’s current war in Gaza — now nearly nine months old — wasn’t a tragedy just for Jews and Israelis. Among the 1,200 people killed that day were 39 citizens of Thailand,...

Mar 30, 2023, 12:10 PM

Tech-oriented Armenia could be lucrative market for Israel

Armenian Jewish brothers Artak and Haik Maghakyan in front of Garni Temple, the only surviving example of Greco-Roman architecture anywhere in the former Soviet Union. The two men run Gardman Tour, which specializes in adventure tourism for Israelis. (Photo by Larry Luxner)

YEREVAN, Armenia —After 30 years of bilateral diplomatic relations, Azerbaijan—a predominantly Muslim nation that uses its vast oil wealth to buy Israeli drones and other weaponry—on Wednesday formally established its embassy in Tel Aviv. Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and...

Feb 25, 2023, 5:41 PM

Rare Disease Day highlights urgency in war-torn Ukraine

Yuriy Galyulko and Karina Pietoian with 8-year-old son Eldar, who has Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and their healthy daughter, Margarita, 3, at home in Lviv, Ukraine. (Photo by Larry Luxner)

Yesterday, Feb. 24, marked exactly one year since Russian President Vladimir Putin, without any provocation or justification, invaded Ukraine, launching a brutal and unnecessary war that has destroyed millions of lives and futures. And this coming Tuesday, Feb. 28, marks...

Feb 24, 2023, 8:22 PM

Armenia’s TUMO offers teen geeks a path to tech success

Teenage boys at workstations equipped with large-screen Apple iMacs, at TUMO Armenia in Yerevan. (Photo by Larry Luxner)

YEREVAN, Armenia — Four years ago, law student Anushavan Yeghiazaryan didn’t know what a programmer was. But after learning Javascript, HTML and CSS—and then serving in the army during Armenia’s brief but punishing 2020 war with Azerbaijan—he found a...

Feb 16, 2023, 7:57 AM

From Israel to the Balkans: Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro

Our group, photographed along the trail in Albania between Balqine and Dobërdol, included American, British and Israeli hikers; journalist Larry Luxner is second from left. (Photo by Virtyt Gacaferri)

TREKUFIRI, Albania — Barely three months after receiving an email invitation to experience the “Peaks of the Balkans,” here I was standing on one—and not even knowing which country we were in. As sheep bells trinkled in the distance, I looked...

Feb 7, 2023, 7:23 PM

Albania’s rescue of Jews is focus of new children’s book

Maya Klinger Cohen proudly holds up a Hebrew-language version of her new book, "The Photographer's Son," which tells the story of Albania's rescue of Jews during the Holocaust.

Eighty years after the horrors of the Holocaust, the inspiring example of how ordinary Albanians saved not only their own tiny Jewish community from the Nazis—but also the lives of nearly 2,000 Jews from Austria, Germany, Greece and Yugoslavia—is...

Oct 23, 2022, 12:22 PM

Is US democracy threatened? Lessons from 1920s Germany

From left: Cynthia Miller-Idriss, director of American University's Polarization and Extremism Research & Innovation Lab (PERIL); Michael Brenner, director of AU's Center for Israel Studies; and Chris Edelson, an assistant professor of government at AU and an expert on the limits of presidential powers, hold an Oct. 20 discussion on extremist threats to American democracy. (Photo by Larry Luxner)

WASHINGTON — A violent far-right attempt at insurrection. Scapegoating of minorities. Hints of antisemitism. Runaway inflation, even a “birther” conspiracy. Sounds a lot like Donald Trump and the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol? Indeed, it does. But in fact,...

Sep 25, 2022, 5:57 AM

Bahrain, Morocco envoys win ‘Diplomat of the Year’ awards

From left: Yoram Naor, honorary consul-general of Belize in Israel; David Fattal, CEO of Fattal Hotels; Khaled Yousef Al Jalahma, Bahrain's ambassador to Israel; Abderrahim Beyyoudh, Morocco's ambassador to Israel, and Yitzhak Eldan, president of the Ambassadors Club of Israel, appear on stage Sept. 21 at the club's annual "Diplomat of the Year" ceremony in Herzliyya. (Photo by Larry Luxner)

HERZLIYYA — In a scene that would have been completely unimaginable only three years ago, two Arab ambassadors were honored in this Tel Aviv suburb Thursday night for their countries’ budding friendships with the Jewish state of Israel. Bahraini Ambassador...

About Me

Miami native Larry Luxner, a veteran journalist and photographer, has reported from more than 100 countries in Latin America, Africa, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Asia for a variety of news outlets. He lived for many years in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and the Washington, D.C., area before relocating to Israel in January 2017.