RSS
‘Madam of Israeli Architecture’: Documentary on One of Most Prolific Female Architects to Be Released Across US
Ada Karmi-Melamede sketching in a scene from “Ada – My Mother The Architect.” Photo: Provided
A documentary being released in theaters across the US profiles one of the most accomplished female architects in the world, and the impossible choices she was forced to make when it came to her career, country, and children.
“Ada — My Mother The Architect” is directed by Academy Award-winning producer Yael Melamede and tells the story of her mother, Israeli architect Ada Karmi-Melamede. The documentary gives a rare glimpse into the career and personal life of the very private but uber talented architect whose most famous designs include Jerusalem’s Supreme Court, Ben Gurion International Airport, the Open University in Ra’anana, Reichman University in Herzliya, and the Neot Hovav Museum and City Council in the Negev, among many other institutions.
Karmi-Melamede, a winner of the 2007 Israel Prize for Architecture, is described by others in the documentary as the “madam of Israeli architecture,” “a master, sculptor of light,” “a groundbreaking architect,” and “one of the most prolific and profound woman architects in the world today.” She was one of the few female students at the Architectural Association in London in the 1950s.
In the 1970s, Karmi-Melamede moved to New York from Israel, following her husband’s career. She spent nearly 15 years teaching at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture and was one of the few female faculty members at Columbia at the time. While teaching, she also contributed to major urban projects in New York, including a master plan for Con Edison, a study for the proposed Second Avenue Subway and a 1978 housing competition on Roosevelt Island. She did all that while raising three young children in New York.
In the early 1980s, after being denied tenure at Columbia, Karmi-Melamede returned to Israel to design the Supreme Court building. The project kept her in Israel for seven years, far away from her family, and as her career took off unexpectedly, she remained at a distance from her children and husband. “Ada – My Mother The Architect” expands on the decisions Karmi-Melamede made when it came to her career and motherhood, while highlighting the mother-daughter bond between the architect and her daughter behind the camera.
Karmi-Melamede’s father and brother were also architects. Melamede, the film’s director, was an architect before turning to a career in filmmaking.
“Ada is a particularly poignant figure for our time,” said the director about her mother. “She has spent the last four decades working in Israel, dedicated to a socially oriented architecture that reflects the values of the idealistic and socialist country she grew up with, while the values around her – professional and politically – have radically changed.”
“She became one of the most prolific female architects of her generation, yet almost nothing is known about her outside of Israel,” added the filmmaker, who co-founded the independent production company SALTY Features. “In the process, she navigated difficult personal choices and ignored the gendered norms of her time.”
Karmi-Melamede is in her 80s and has been working in the Jewish state since 1983, while her children continue to live outside of Israel. She also leads a firm of architects who are “decades her junior,” according to Melamede.
“She has spent her life thinking about architecture as a public good,” said the filmmaker. “But now, because of economic pressures, technological changes, and globalization, her dreams for placemaking make her deeply concerned about the profession’s future in Israel and around the world. Ada offers a unique model for practicing aspirational architecture and being an engaged and concerned citizen in a country she no longer recognizes.”
“The film began with questions about ‘place’ and ‘home.’ The Israeli story is often relegated to a binary lens, but the reality is far more complicated. As many of us are shaken by the fragility of the democracies we call home, Ada gives us ways to think about preserving despite the challenges.”
“Ada — My Mother The Architect” will be screened in select theaters in New York City; Los Angeles; San Francisco; Madison and Stanford, Connecticut; Dallas, Texas, at the Berkshire International Film Festival in Massachusetts; and the Winnipeg International Jewish Film Festival in Canada.
Watch the trailer below.
The post ‘Madam of Israeli Architecture’: Documentary on One of Most Prolific Female Architects to Be Released Across US first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Brooklyn Nets Select Israeli Basketball Players Ben Saraf, Danny Wolf in NBA Draft
The opening tip between the Brooklyn Nets and Washington Wizards, at Barclays Center, in Brooklyn, New York, Dec. 13, 2020. Photo: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect
In a landmark night for Israeli basketball, Ben Saraf and Danny Wolf were selected in the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft by the Brooklyn Nets, marking the first time two Israeli players have been drafted in the same year.
Saraf, a 19-year-old guard known for his explosive athleticism and creative playmaking, was taken with the 26th pick. A standout with Maccabi Rishon LeZion and a rising star on Israel’s youth national teams, Saraf gained international attention with his electrifying scoring and commanding court presence.
With the 27th pick, the Nets selected 7-foot center Danny Wolf out of the University of Michigan. Wolf, who holds dual US-Israeli citizenship and represented Israel at the U-20 level, brings a versatile skill set, including sharp passing, perimeter shooting, and a strong feel for the game. After his name was called, Wolf grew emotional in an on-air interview, crediting his family for helping him reach the moment.
“I have the two greatest brothers in the world; I have an unbelievable sister who I love,” Wolf said. “They all helped me get to where I am today, and they’re going to help me get to where I am going to go in this league.”
The historic double-pick adds to the growing wave of Israeli presence on the NBA stage, led by Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija, who just completed a breakout 2024–25 season. After being traded to Portland last summer, Avdija thrived as a starter, averaging 16.9 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 3.8 assists. In March alone, he posted 23.4 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game, including two triple-doubles.
“I don’t think I’ve played like this before … I knew I had it in me. But I’m not really thinking about it. I’m just playing. I’m just free,” Avdija told reporters in March
With Saraf and Wolf joining Avdija, Israel’s basketball pipeline has reached unprecedented visibility. Israeli President Isaac Herzog called the moment “a national celebration for sports and youth,” and Israeli sports commentators widely hailed the night as “historic.”
Both Saraf and Wolf are expected to suit up for the Nets’ Summer League team in July. As the two rookies begin their NBA journey, they join a growing generation of Israeli athletes proving that their game belongs on basketball’s biggest stage.
The post Brooklyn Nets Select Israeli Basketball Players Ben Saraf, Danny Wolf in NBA Draft first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Iran Denies Any Meeting With US Next Week, Foreign Minister Says
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi attends a press conference following a meeting with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia, April 18, 2025. Photo: Tatyana Makeyeva/Pool via REUTERS
Iran currently has no plan to meet with the United States, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Thursday in an interview on state TV, contradicting US President Donald Trump’s statement that Washington planned to have talks with Iran next week.
The Iranian foreign minister said Tehran was assessing whether talks with the US were in its interest, following five previous rounds of negotiations that were cut short by Israel and the US attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities.
The US and Israel said the strikes were meant to curb Iran’s ability to create nuclear weapons, while Iran says its nuclear program is solely geared toward civilian use.
Araqchi said the damages to nuclear sites “were not little” and that relevant authorities were figuring out the new realities of Iran’s nuclear program, which he said would inform Iran’s future diplomatic stance.
The post Iran Denies Any Meeting With US Next Week, Foreign Minister Says first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Ireland Becomes First European Nation to Advance Ban on Trade With Israeli Settlements
A pro-Hamas demonstration in Ireland led by nationalist party Sinn Fein. Photo: Reuters/Clodagh Kilcoyne
Ireland has become the first European nation to push forward legislation banning trade with Israeli communities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem — an effort officials say is meant “to address the horrifying situation” in the Gaza Strip.
On Wednesday, Irish Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Simon Harris announced that the legislation has already been approved by the government and will now move to the parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade for pre-legislative scrutiny.
“Ireland is speaking up and speaking out against the genocidal activity in Gaza,” Harris said during a press conference.
The Irish diplomat also told reporters he hopes the “real benefit” of the legislation will be to encourage other countries to follow suit, “because it is important that every country uses every lever at its disposal.”
Today Ireland becomes the first country in Europe to bring forward legislation to ban trade with the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Ireland is speaking up and speaking out against the genocidal activity in Gaza.
Every country must pull every lever at its disposal. pic.twitter.com/Z4RTjqntEY— Simon Harris TD (@SimonHarrisTD) June 24, 2025
Joining a growing number of EU member states aiming to curb Israel’s defensive campaign against the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, Ireland’s decision comes after a 2024 advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared Israel’s presence in the West Bank and East Jerusalem illegal.
The ICJ ruled that third countries must avoid trade or investment that supports “the illegal situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”
Once implemented, the law will criminalize the importation of goods from Israeli settlements into Ireland, empowering customs officials to inspect, seize, and confiscate any such shipments.
“The situation in Palestine remains a matter of deep public concern,” Harris said. “I have made it consistently clear that this government will use all levers at its disposal to address the horrifying situation on the ground and to contribute to long-term efforts to achieve a sustainable peace on the basis of the two-state solution.”
“Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory are illegal and threaten the viability of the two-state solution,” the Irish diplomat continued. “This is the longstanding position of the European Union and our international partners. Furthermore, this is the clear position under international law.”
Harris also urged the EU to comply with the ICJ’s ruling by taking a more decisive and “adequate response” regarding imports from Israeli settlements.
“This is an issue that I will continue to press at EU level, and I reiterated my call for concrete proposals from the European Commission at the Foreign Affairs Council this week,” he said.
Last week, Ireland and eight other EU member states — Finland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden — called on the European Commission to draft proposals for how EU countries can halt trade and imports with Israeli settlements, in line with obligations set out by the ICJ.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar condemned the latest move by European countries, calling it “shameful” and a misguided attempt to undermine Israel while it faces “existential” threats from Iran and its proxies, including Hamas.
“It is regrettable that even when Israel is fighting an existential threat which is in Europe’s vital interest — there are those who can’t resist their anti-Israeli obsession,” the top Israeli diplomat said in a post on X.
It is regrettable that even when Israel fighting an existential threat which is in Europe vital interest – there are those who can’t resist their anti-Israeli obsession.
Shameful! https://t.co/lxm9qm8sM1— Gideon Sa’ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) June 19, 2025
The post Ireland Becomes First European Nation to Advance Ban on Trade With Israeli Settlements first appeared on Algemeiner.com.