Matthew Bell
Editor
Matthew Bell is an editor at The World.
I’m an editor based in the Boston newsroom — working from home a lot lately, of course. I work closely with our correspondents who cover the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America.By way of background, I studied comparative religion and Chinese history at the University of Vermont. That led me to Mandarin language classes and UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism, and then to KQED Radio in San Francisco. From there, I started freelancing for The World and joined the team full-time here in Boston in late 2001.In my previous life as a reporter, I was blessed with the opportunity to cover a huge range of stories for The World. But some of the most memorable ones involved taking a trip on a Louisiana shrimping boat in the Gulf of Mexico, covering events in Egypt during the so-called Arab Spring, and meeting North Korean refugees in Seoul, South Korea.I’m super interested in religion and I tend to think most big news stories have an important, if overlooked, religion angle. I’ve reported a lot on US foreign policy, human rights in China, North Korea’s nuclear activities and life in Israel and the Palestinian territories. Beyond journalism, I’m helping to raise kids and engaged in the lifelong pursuit of learning to play the electric guitar.
Gaza war is putting Egyptian-Israeli relations to the test
When the Israeli military seized control of the border crossing at Rafah, the Egyptian government seemed to be taken by surprise. Egypt’s government has stopped cooperating with aid shipments into Rafah. It’s also joined South Africa’s effort at the International Court of Justice to bring charges of genocide against Israel. Experts say the 45-year-old Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty is being put at risk.
For Palestinians, a grim reality in Gaza obscures the future
The Biden administration says it’s looking for leadership from the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank after the war in Gaza is over. A new technocratic government has been sworn in, but as war continues to rage in Gaza, Palestinians are not hopeful. The World’s Matthew Bell speaks with people in the West Bank city of Ramallah about their vision for the future.
Tens of thousands attend Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem
On April 5, the final Friday in the Islamic holy month of Ramadan this year — a special time for Muslims worldwide — more than 3,500 Israeli police were deployed at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Here, an estimated 57,000 Muslims attended Friday prayers.
Sharing the national burden in Israel
In Israel, most Jewish men are drafted into three years of military service soon after they graduate from high school. Jewish women serve two-year stints. The ultra-Orthodox community has been exempt. But this is beginning to change. Israel’s Supreme Court just ruled that religious seminaries called yeshivas are being cut off from government funding because they don’t send students into the military.
Israelis set up a tent city in Jerusalem to protest Netanyahu and call for new elections
Demonstrators are calling for new elections to protest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. They’ve camped out in front of the Knesset. Protests in Israel are not new, but what is new are the people who’ve joined ranks in this demonstration. The World’s host, Marco Werman, and reporter Matthew Bell are in Jerusalem.
Israel says ‘no’ to a 2-state solution
The Biden administration wants Israel and the Palestinians to get serious about restarting a long-stalled plan for a two-state solution. The European Union is saying the same, and so are Arab leaders, along with others across the international community. But Israel’s current government is digging in its heels.