‘Friendly fire,’ that horrific oxymoron
The announcement Friday night that IDF troops had shot and killed three Israelis who had managed to escape Hamas captivity, pitched the nation into a despondency it had not known since October 7.
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I’m delighted to provide you with deep, multifaceted, and first-hand insights into Israel. No longer in public office, I can show you Israel up close, from the inside, as well as from 25,000 feet — all with total clarity.
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The Day After
This war doesn’t end with an iconic photo of desert fighters gathered around a makeshift flagpole in Eilat and hoisting a hand-painted Israeli pennant.
The Iran Delusion
Years of U.S. appeasement have failed. It’s time for a dramatic change of course.
Agreeing to a ceasefire will reduce Israeli deterrence to zero
It is clear beyond any doubt that Israel cannot agree to a ceasefire. A ceasefire means a victory for Hamas, which will immediately begin planning its next terrorist attack.
Anti-Semitic incidents are ‘off the chart’
FBI Director’s warning that Hamas could inspire an attack in the US is a “very real threat”, says former Israeli ambassador to the US Michael Oren.
“We’re going to WIN. Stick with us.”
On Nov. 2, I had a wide-ranging conversation with former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S., Michael Oren. We talked about his lifelong service to Israel, what he’s learned over the years, and how he is communicating about the current war against Hamas. The interview has been edited for clarity and length. — M.G.
What IDF ground expansion would look like
Former Israeli ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren details ground operations expanding from the IDF
A War Against the Jews
Hatred of Israel cannot be distinguished from hatred of the Jewish people. Incontestably now, anti-Zionism is antisemitism.
The Waiting Period Redux
“We have removed with our own hand our most powerful weapon—the enemy’s fear of us. We have the power…but if we give in…we have opened the door to Israel’s destruction.”
Holywood: The Birth and Death of a Vision
The following essay was written in the late summer of 2023, pre-October 7, in the period we in Israel now regard nostalgically. What a luxury it was, in retrospect, to lament the lack of an international film hub in Israel and to recall my abortive efforts to create one. What an indulgence it was to…
Should Israel Strike First?
Is this period more like 1967, when Israel preemptively attacked its enemies? Or like 1973—when it failed to do so? This article was originally published in The Free Press. For more than two weeks, Israelis have been waiting for war. Immediately after the July 31 assassination of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran,…
America First, Indeed
A week ago, as the anticipated Iranian attack on Israel loomed, I wrote an op-ed for the Israeli daily Yediot Aharonot on the preferred military response. The article attracted attention for saying frankly—with clarity—the thoughts of a great many Israelis. The following is an adaptation of that piece. In response to Iran’s impending retaliatory attack against Israel,…
Washington’s Wavering Support for Israel
Sharp shifts in American policy cast doubt over whether the US will have Israel’s back if it needs to preemptively strike Iran MICHAEL OREN AUG 07, 2024 81 30 Share The USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group transits in formation (US Navy) With Iran and its proxies threatening to launch a massive attack against Israel,…
High-Tech in Wartime
Cityscape of Tel Aviv, also known as Silicon Wadi. (Photo by Shai Pal on Unsplash) Subscribe For four years I have been reporting on Israel’s high-tech sector and how it intertwines with its military counterpart. One of the things that struck me early on in my career (and which has only been reinforced since October 7)…
A Very Perilous Window
Calls for action against Iran are merely calls. Needed urgently are concrete measures. MICHAEL OREN JUL 25, 2024 100 58 Share Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the U.S. Congress, July 24, 2024. (Amos Ben-Gershom/GPO) Subscribe “In the Middle East, Iran’s axis of terror confronts America, Israel and our Arab friends,” Israeli Prime Minister declared in the…
Palestinians Cheer Carnage
Reading the article, “Palestinians Cheer Carnage,” published in the throes of the Second Intifada twenty-two years ago, elicits far more than a déjà vu. It reminds me that the horrors of October 7 did not so much trigger a war as reignite one. It foreshadows the complex challenges Israel still faces in distinguishing civilians from…
Israel is Losing the North
This piece was originally published in The Times of Israel. In contrast to English, in which people who can’t get their bearings straight become disoriented—literally, they fail to find the east—in Hebrew, people ma’abedim et ha- tzafon, they lose the north. The distinction could not be more appropriate. With each day of mass displacement, deadly rocket and…
