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,…

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,…

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,…

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)…

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…

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…

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…

Hezbollah won’t accept a ceasefire unless Hamas does. Hamas will not agree to a ceasefire. Hence, Israel will go to war against Hezbollah. MICHAEL OREN JUL 03, 2024 58 20 Share This article originally appeared in the Times of Israel. US President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the war between Israel and Hamas after meeting Prime…