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
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.
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?
Opinion Israel Ought to Grant the African Asylum-seekers Their Wish
Israel can grant Africans a 10-year visa, during which it will become clear, to them and to us, where they are heading
Opinon The Israeli Police’s Finest Hour
Netanyahu and his supporters have accused the heads of the police of trying to bring down the right-wing government. That’s nonsense
Opinion Israel Will Prosper by Building, Not by Revenge
Attacks did not start with our 1967 takeover of Samaria or the Jordan Valley. They began 120 years ago, at the start of the return of Jews to the Land of Israel
Opinion A War of No Choice for Israel in Lebanon
The quiet on Israel's border with Lebanon is an illusion of those who prefer to bury their heads in the sand- and as it continues, Hezbollah stocks up on arms almost uninterrupted
Opinion America's Vice President Is More Zionist Than the Zionists
After all, what is Pence's statement, 'Your fight is our fight,' and the pledge, 'America stands with Israel'?
Opinion Fire the Rabbi, Not the Chief of Staff
It’s not the army’s job to promote ideological societal agendas – not religious ones, and also not feminist ones