SAPIR Journal invited me to write this article at the end of March, 2025, shortly after much of the world blamed Israel for breaking the Gaza ceasefire and for unleashing one of the deadliest-ever bombing campaigns on the Strip. Hardly a propitious time to write about Israel’s chosenness! Yet, without fully grasping my argument, much less…

The leader of Hamas bet that the West’s oldest hatred would obscure Hamas’s atrocities. He was right. Growing up as the only Jewish kid in an Irish and Italian neighborhood, and then later as an Israeli soldier and diplomat, I experienced many different forms of antisemitism. I’ve gone from being labeled a Christ-killer to a…

In Judaism, we have a traditional period of mourning—the Nine Days culminating on Tisha B’Av. On that day we recall our people’s suffering during the destruction of our Temples, our expulsions, and the many massacres at the hands of our enemies. Precisely at this period, when Israel is once again subjected to widespread hate and…

A Hopeful Deja Vu The radical changes that took place in the Middle East as a result of the Six-Day War did not happen immediately. Will the region once again be transformed? Michael Oren Jul 29, 2025 The situation might sound familiar. A major Middle Eastern power declares its intention to destroy the State of…

The IDF announces decision to act “to prevent the entrenchment of hostile elements beyond the border, protect Israeli citizens, and prevent harm to Druze civilians.”   Supporters of Israel worldwide, including a great many Jews, have little notion of who the Druze are, much less Israel’s “blood covenant” with them. Few would know that, though…

With new leadership in Damascus, Trump wants a deal between the two countries. That will be a tall order.   Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in Washington, D.C., last week, and high on the agenda in his meetings with President Donald Trump was Syria—and the possibility of peace, or at least nonbelligerency, between Israel…

The Israeli media spent much of Monday speculating about the reasons why the summit between Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Trump was postponed from lunchtime to the evening. “Was it because Trump is angry at Bibi?” Several analysts wondered. “Are we witnessing the beginning of a crisis?” The commentators in Israel, deeply embroiled in our…

Israelis have every reason to celebrate the extraordinary and historic achievements of the IDF during Operation Rising Lion. Over the course of a mere 12 days, Israel knocked out over half of Iran’s missile and launching capabilities, eliminated dozens of military leaders and nuclear scientists, destroyed key regime facilities, and degraded fortified nuclear plants – all without losing a single plane or soldier.…

In the aftermath of one of Israel’s border wars with Hamas, a prominent American journalist called me and asked, “I understand what Israel’s tactic is, but what is Israel’s strategy?” My response surprised him. “You don’t understand,” I replied. “Israel’s tactic is our strategy.” I explained that, since our founding in 1948, Israel has had…

Americans. We are allies. Yet our lives exist in different universes. You wake up at 7 a.m., hit snooze, and begin your day. I wake up randomly, to the sudden, psychologically unnerving wailing of an air raid siren. You reach for a coffee to run out the door. I reach for my shoes and run…