Jacob Resneck

Reporter

Jacob Resneck is a journalist based in Istanbul.

Jacob Resneck started his journalism career near his home in Northern California where he helped write and edit a weekly newspaper that he delivered out of his red 1976 Toyota pickup.He later moved to harsher climes to work as an inkslinger in New York’s Adirondack Mountains where a dispute over pay at a small daily newspaper led him to discover the magic of radio.Fast forward to 2012. He moved to Istanbul to become a full-time freelancer covering hard, soft and downright bizarre stories for such news sources as GlobalPost, Christian Science Monitor, Deutsche Welle and Radio France Internationale.When he’s not haranguing long-suffering editors with a new story idea he likes to ride his mountain bike through Istanbul traffic and scour tide pools for tasty mussels and limpets near his seaside home.Such is the spartan existence of the modern freelancer. He still misses that truck.


At Serbia’s testicle-cooking contest, it takes guts to have balls

Lifestyle

‘Now Serbia is popular in the world and without wars — we are popular with our balls.’

How to behave at a Turkish camel wrestling match

Turkey bans Twitter: Here’s why

Even without any voting fraud, Turkey’s elections aren’t a fair fight

Ibrahim Esmael Ibrahim at the train station in Idomeni, Greece. As a teenager, he worked as a translator with the US military in Iraq.

An Iraqi translator for the US military is now stuck in Greece

Conflict
Flowers and handwritten signs for the sexual assault victims have been left on the steps of Cologne's Gothic cathedral. Hundreds of women reported being victimized in this area during a chaotic New Year's Eve.

Men of Arab descent not finding Germany as welcoming as they used to

Justice

After reports of women being harassed and groped on the streets of Cologne, Germany, on New Year’s Eve, mostly by men of Arab descent, German officials are promising changes. They’ve beefed up the police presence in public areas and vowed to deport migrants convicted of serious crimes. And Arab and Muslim migrants in Germany say the welcoming atmosphere is starting to change.

Climate activists formed a 2-mile human chain Sunday along Parisian sidewalks after authorities banned a full-fledged climate march following the Nov. 13 attacks in the French capital. Demonstrators said they were determined to find ways to express their

France bans marches, but climate activists make their voices heard

Environment

As world leaders arrive for a global climate conference in a city that’s locked down following the November 13 terrorist attacks, climate activists look for ways — legal and otherwise — to make their voices heard

A public park in downtown Brussels houses a tent city with scores of families camping out in donated tents. Charity workers say they've never seen so many refugees occupy a public space at one time in Belgium.

Refugees are camping out in ‘Europe’s capital city’

Conflict

Some Belgian leaders are concerned that they can’t handle the number of refugees seeking asylum in their country. Belgium is getting 250 asylum requests per day, some 4,000 to 5,000 per month.

Team Switzerland competes during their synchronized swimming free routine team final at the 1st European Games in Baku, Azerbaijan.

European Games are going swimmingly, although no one seems to know they’re happening

Culture

The first-ever European Games is wrapping up its first week. By all accounts it’s been a roaring success. In Baku, Azerbaijan, where the games are being held. Elsewhere in Europe, folks don’t really seem to know that the “Olympics for Europe” is taking place.

Supporters of other Turkish soccer teams rally in support of Carsi soccer fans Tuesday morning outside the Istanbul Palace of Justice.

These Turkish soccer fans are not cheering on their government right now

Global Politics

Members of the Carsi soccer fan club in Turkey are under fire now, with prosecutors seeking life in prison for up to 35 people accused of plotting a coup. But human rights advocates — and the fans themselves — say the charges are bunk.