Heidi Levine

Early life and education

Levine grew up in Boston, Massachusetts. Her father, an avid photographer, gave her a first camera, and the two would explore the city taking pictures. She first aimed her lens at impoverished neighborhoods in Boston and New York.

While studying at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, she shot for the student newspaper. In 1983, at age 21, she spent a six-week school break working on an Israeli kibbutz. There, she applied to the Associated Press, was hired, and began her photojournalism career in Israel that same year, choosing real-world experience over college journalism classes.

Career

Levine got her start at the Associated Press in Israel, where she picked up skills in editing, lab work, and dealing with subscribers. She has said that breaking into the industry was tough as a woman, calling it a "boys club." In 1991, she signed on with the Sipa Press Photo Agency. Based in Israel, her work has mostly centered on the violence in Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank.

On assignment, she has also documented conflicts in Afghanistan, Kosovo, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, and Syria, along with stories like female feticide in India, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Syrian refugee crisis. In February 2022, she was in Ukraine for The Washington Post, covering the Russian invasion and photographing the aftermath of the Bucha massacre. She noted that most of those images were too shocking to ever be published. As of October 2024, she is covering the war in Gaza.

She describes covering the Israeli–Palestinian conflict as deeply personal and intimate. Her photos have run in outlets such as The Washington Post, The New York Times, Stern, National Geographic, Paris Match, L'Express, Newsweek, Time, The New York Times Magazine, The Sunday Times Magazine, Forbes, and The Globe and Mail. She believes photography can make a difference by raising awareness and sparking empathy for people caught in conflicts and crises.

Did You Know?

• Levine has lived in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and has three children.
• In Jerusalem, she lived in a mixed neighborhood to expose her children to people of different backgrounds.
• Her work away from home and in danger zones has led to disappointments among her children, family, and friends.