Opinion Decisive Year Ahead
On the eve of Rosh Hashana, Maj. Gen. Herzl Halevi, head of Southern Command, said he sees no chance of quiet in the coming decade, or even afterward
Israel Harel
Israel Harel is a regular columnist for Haaretz. He is the founder of the Institute for Religious Zionism at the Shalom Hartman Institute, and of the Council of Jewish Communities in Judea, Samaria and Gaza, which he headed until 1995.
Harel began working as a journalist in the 1960s, as a young contributor to the Eretz Yisrael Movement's newspaper, This is The Land.
He went on to serve as managing editor of the Hayom daily and in 1972 became the assistant editor for the weekend edition of Ma'ariv, at the time the most widely read newspaper in Israel. In addition to that position, Harel also worked as an investigative reporter on Israeli corruption.
In 1991, Harel was asked by Haaretz to contribute an occasional column and to write as a guest journalist. When Chanoch Marmori took over as editor-in-chief, Harel's column became weekly, and it has appeared every Thursday since.
An Alternative History: How Shimon Peres Made Peace by Walking Away From Oslo
This is how Shimon Peres could have left Oslo’s architects behind, battled Yasser Arafat and terrorism, and put the Jordanian option back on the table
Opinion Israel's Selective Memory on the Oslo Accords
Should we not focus on the handshake between Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat, the man who would betray him and destroy in the blood and fire of terror attacks the agreement that he had just signed with him?
Opinion Unprecedented Lunacy: It's Not Racist to Oppose Calls for 'Blood and Fire' Against Israeli Jews
The ultranationalist Palestinian population in Israel uses the slogan of bloodshed 'with blood and fire we’ll redeem Palestine.' And around the oath’s real meaning, a web of denial has been woven
Opinion Three Cheers for the Goldin and Shaul Families
In contrast to the Regev and Goldwasser families, the Goldins and the Shauls oppose releasing terrorists in exchange for the remains of a loved ones, as their remains have become a strategic asset for Hamas
Opinion The Hypocrisy of Protesting the Nation-state Law
If the national clauses are unnecessary because they are mentioned in the declaration, why is the absence of 'equality,' which is also mentioned in it, a red line?
Opinion An Operational and a Moral Failure
A main argument coming out of the army’s PR machine is that the conflict in the north is strategically critical, and for that reason most resources are being directed there, but that’s an evasion
Opinion Nation-state Bill Isn't Racist – It Preserves the Legacy of Israel's Founding Fathers
It is not respectable to submit this bill to the vote in such a cynical way, which degrades its ideological, Zionist and Jewish content
Opinion Zionist Union Has a Story, and It’s a Bad One
The Israeli left has been going downhill ever since it abandoned the land- and nation-building that was championed by its giants of the past
Opinion Tying Up Gulliver With Kite String
Even though the cries of the local residents reach the heavens, the fires continue. The IDF is focusing as usual on finding sterile technological solutions
Opinion Why They Rejected the Victorious General Winter
Brig. Gen. Ofer Winter doesn’t settle for the strategy of containment. He takes the battle to the end
Opinion Probe the Leakers, Not Netanyahu
The prime minister ought to be the good guy in the 'wiretapping affair.' Not Netanyahu, but rather those who divulged state secrets, should be held to public account
Opinion There Is No ‘Solution’ for Gaza
As far as the Palestinians are concerned, if they leave the refugee camps or rebuild Gaza, their struggle will die. To advance the national cause – a full return to their land – the more they preserve the bad the better
Opinion Flight From the Enemy and Its Reward
The 2000 exit from Lebanon without an agreement remains the disaster that keeps causing more disasters for Israel
Opinion Loathing Trump, Hating Netanyahu
How can any Israelis complain about raising economic, political pressure on Tehran?
Opinion 'Court-override Bill' Does No Such Thing
Despite what detractors say, a proposed law is meant to rein in the judicial branch’s excessive eagerness to undermine the independence of the legislative branch
Opinion We Vowed 'Never Again.' And Then We Let Assad Make Chemical Weapons
If we act – and we must – to eliminate Assad's poison gas, we will be a light unto the nations
Opinion Inciting Against New Israel Fund
How did Netanyahu pin the blame on the group for the failure of the asylum seeker deal with Rwanda? He just knew he needed to supply supporters with a demon that forced him to make his latest flip-flop
Opinion Despair Is From the Devil
Despite all the trouble, never before in history has the Jewish state flourished the way it does today, nor has it been as secure as it is now
Opinion Assimilation Is the Failure of American Jewry, Not Israel
Ron Lauder claimed in a New York Times op-ed that Israel’s policies cause ‘assimilation’ and ‘alienation’ from Israel. Is he serious?