Rafael Ben Ari was a dedicated photojournalist who worked for major Israeli newspapers and international news agencies between 2004 and 2012. During that time, he documented news, culture, conflict, and everyday life across Israel, creating powerful visual narratives that reflected the region’s complexity and human dimension. Through strong technical skill, ethical integrity, and a sharp sense of storytelling, he produced impactful images that informed and engaged audiences both locally and worldwide.
Here’s a curated list of Rafael Ben Ari’s published photojournalism articles from The Digital Journalist, reflecting his work covering news and events in Israel while he was active as a photojournalist between 2004 and 2012:
Barack Obama in the Holy Land
July 2008
Coverage of then-presidential candidate Barack Obama’s visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories, highlighting political and social context from his tour
By Rafael Ben Ari
In July 2008, then-presidential candidate Barack Obama visited Israel and the Palestinian territories, a key stop on his international tour designed to bolster his foreign policy credentials.
Obama visited the rocket-battered town of Sderot on July 23, touring a house damaged by Hamas rocket fire to show support for Israel’s security.
Read more:
https://digitaljournalist.org/issue0808/barack-obama-in-the-holy-land-bp.html
After the Gaza-Egypt border breach by Hamas during an Israeli blockade of Gaza that began on January 23, 2008, after gunmen in the Gaza Strip set off an explosion near the Rafah Border Crossing, officials of the Israeli internal security forces, the Shin Bet, concluded that Palestinian militant groups had smuggled a large number of longer range missiles such as Katyushas and Grads into the Strip. These missiles are capable of reaching Ashkelon, a city of 120,000, six times as large as the rocket-battered town of Sderot and located 25 km (about 16 miles) NW on the Mediterranean.
Read more:
https://digitaljournalist.org/issue0804/operation-hot-winter.html
The first time I met Dr. Waismann was in the cafeteria of Barzilai Hospital, Ashkelon, Israel, in the summer of 2006 during my photo coverage of the second Lebanon war. We had a short conversation about severely injured soldiers that have been given morphine to ease their pain and, unfortunately, had become drug addicts. Dr. Waismann told me that he has devoted his life to developing a cure for drugs addicts and now he is helping many patients from all over the world.
Read more:
https://digitaljournalist.org/issue0706/opiate-free-in-24-hours.html
August 2006
On the morning of July 12, 2006, eight Israeli soldiers were killed and two more were kidnapped at the Israeli-Lebanon border by the terrorist group named Hezbollah. A few hours later the second Israeli war in Lebanon began.
Read more:
https://digitaljournalist.org/issue0608/operation-change-of-direction.html
May 2006
Living in Israel, close to the Gaza Strip, and being a freelance photographer in a country full of news and even more photographers, I came to accept the late phone calls and very early-morning starts to beat the competition and meet the deadlines. Not knowing much about the bird flu epidemic, which is engrossing the world, I was soon to learn and see more about it than I would have in any other job.
Read more:
https://digitaljournalist.org/issue0605/the-israeli-bird-flu-outbreak.html