The past year has been quite the mixed bag. On the one hand, the world has truly reopened, having hunkered down for two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On the other, it bore witness to an all-out war on the European soil for the first time since World War II, when Russia launched its onslaught of its southern neighbor. Ukraine leader Volodymyr Zelensky, who is also part Jewish, rose to international prominence due to his seemingly unshakable confidence throughout the military campaign, which has entered its eleventh month.
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Volodymyr Zelensky and his wife address the Ukrainian people on New Year's Eve
(Photo: AFP)
In Israel, domestic stories also dominated the headlines, with the promised political unity failing to materialize, sending the country into its fifth election campaign in less than three years, while antisemitism has begun to rear its ugly head all over the world.
These are the 10 stories that most captivated Ynetnews readers in 2022:
Recent data suggests antisemitic incidents have seen a dramatic increase over the past year. A report released by the Wiesenthal Center just this week claims that rapper Kanye West, known as Ye, has contributed greatly to the disturbing trend with his recent outbursts, repeating the disturbing antisemitic tropes, such as Jewish people "run the media" and "control the banks."
It is not surprising that one of the most read stories on Ynetnews this year was a 2011 analysis on how Jews have become one of the richest religious groups in American society.
In June of 2022, the senior adviser to former U.S. president Donald Trump and his wife and daughter of the Republican leader arrived in Israel for a brief visit. During their outing to Tel Aviv's beachfront Manta Ray restaurant, the pair was greeted by a swarm of paparazzi.
Ivanka's security guards tried to obstruct the lensmen's work with pieces of cardboard they had brought with them in advance, but the daughter of former U.S. president surprisingly instructed them to let the paparazzi get the coveted snaps.
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Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump out and about in Tel Aviv Sunday night
(Photo: Shaul Golan)
French soccer superstar Kylian Mbappé has been the talk of the town following recent 2022 FIFA World Cup, with France reaching the final and losing to Argentina in a very close match.
Back in May, the player made the headlines in Israel as well, when reports had emerged that he was dating an Instagram model Aviv Meiri, a 29-year-old student from the affluent Israeli town of Meitar.
Although sources said Meiri at one point flew to Paris to spend quality time with the athlete, the romance appears to have withered. Latest reports say the 24-year-old Paris Saint-Germain forward is dating Stephanie Rose Bertram, a 28-year-old Belgian model.
Russian President Vladimir Putin stunned the world when he launched a massive military campaign against Ukraine on February 24. Refusing to call the campaign "war" for months, sourced said the Russian leader would officially do so on May 9, when Russia marks "Victory Day" over the Nazi Germany.
At the onset of the war, Israel had taken a tough stance on Russia, voting at the UN to condemn the invasion and calling the onslaught that killed thousands of people unacceptable.
Russia did not keep Israel waiting when it came to response. In April, Russian Putin demanded in a letter to former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, that the Alexander Nevsky Church, in the Old City of Jerusalem, be immediately transferred into Russian hands, after it was allegedly promised to him by Benjamin Netanyahu.
In the first few days of the war in Ukraine reports had emerged that Russian forces shelled an area in Kyiv next to Babi Yar - the site of a World War II massacre of tens of thousands of Jews by German occupation troops and Ukrainian auxiliaries.
In an exclusive report, Ynet journalist Ron Ben-Yishai was able to reach the area and verify that the memorial, in fact, was neither damaged nor shelled.
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Ynet journalist Ron Ben-Yishai reporting Babi Yar unscathed after Russian attack
(Photo: Ron Ben Yishai)
In an interview with Ukrainian journalists in April, Zelensky asserted that following the invasion, Ukraine will become similar to Israel, with security being its main concern for decades to come.
In September, one of the greatest tennis players of all time Novak Djokovic landed in Israel to play the 2022 Tel Aviv Open. However, the accommodation of the Serbian superstar in the Holy Land is what truly had the tongues of the local public wagging.
Djokovic was reported to have been staying in the presidential suite of the luxurious Royal Beach Hotel on Tel Aviv's Yarkon Street - priced at whopping NIS 7,867 ($2,200) per night.
In November, the Turkish city of Istanbul was rocked by a bombing attack in the middle of one of its tourism hotspots. At least eight people were killed and over 80 wounded when the bomb exploded at Istiklal Street near the Taksim Square in the city.
Fortunately, no Israeli nationals were harmed in the attack, but at least two had a very lucky escape. Security camera footage from the area of the blast later revealed two Israeli women walking alongside the suspected terrorist who was en route to place the bomb.
We are rounding up our Top 10 with a figure who is known all to well to Israeli readers. Model Bella Hadid is famously an ardent critic of Israel. Hadid, who has over 50 million Instagram followers, is the daughter of Mohamed Hadid, a Palestinian businessman born in Nazareth, who immigrated to the United States.
During 2021 war in Gaza, dubbed Operation Guardians of the Wall, the model shared an infographic, labeling Israel "a group of colonizers," who are perpetrating ethnic cleansing against Palestinians. She also took part in a pro-Palestinian rally in May of 2021, and was caught on camera shouting the slogan "from the river to the sea," used by terror groups as a rallying call to destroy the Jewish state.
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Bella Hadid shares Instagram post in which she claims to cry over struggle of Palestinians
(Photo: Instagram)
In August, she claimed in an interview that her criticism of Israel has cost her jobs. Did that actually happen? Our guess is as good as yours.