Herb Keinon

Herb Keinon is a senior contributing editor and analyst, writing extensively on diplomacy, politics and Israeli society. He has been at the paper for 35 years, 20 of those as its diplomatic correspondent, and during this time has covered up close the major stories that have shaped the nation for more than three decades: from the first intifada to the withdrawal from Gaza; the massive immigration of Soviet Jews to the Rabin assassination; the Ariel Sharon premiership to that of Benjamin Netanyahu. Keinon also writes a popular monthly "light" column on daily life in Israel. A collection of these columns, French Fries in Pita, was published in 2014. Keinon lectures widely in Israel and around the world on political and diplomatic developments in the country. Originally from Denver, Keinon has a BA in political science from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and an MA in journalism from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana.

Designated head of the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) director David Zini seen with Ultra orthodox jewish soldiers from the Hasmonean Brigade after completing their beret march, at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old city on August 6, 2025.

Shin Bet chief Zini's loyalty remarks raise defining questions for Israel's elections - analysis

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his wife Sara Netanyahu, and Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu attend a cornerstone-laying ceremony for the Atarot Heritage Center in northern Jerusalem, July 5, 2026.

Political logic behind Netanyahu’s controversial legislative blitz - analysis

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the State Comptroller elections at the plenum of the Knesset, in Jerusalem, June 3, 2026.

Will there be a constitutional crisis? Second Authority dispute tests judicial authority - analysis


Political rivals Lapid, Edelstein, surprisingly align on national priorities - analysis

Both men are defining Israeli politics not through the traditional categories of Left and Right, but through questions of national responsibility, military service, governance, and consensus.

MK Yuli Edelstein speaks during a conference at the Reichman University in Herzliya, on January 13, 2026.

In unity government push, Netanyahu bets Israel's political boycott is beginning to crack

POLITICAL AFFAIRS: PM Netanyahu’s emerging campaign is built around a simple proposition: The political boycott against him is losing its rationale, and a broader coalition is again possible.

PRIME MINISTER Benjamin Netanyahu announces his intention to run in elections scheduled for later this year.

Why Israel stopped when Trump said stop: Understanding the 12-hour Iran war

DIPLOMATIC AFFAIRS: A startup’s relationship with Google and North Korea’s path to the nuclear bomb offers unexpected insights into this week’s 12-hour war with Iran.

PRIME MINISTER Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump. Never has Israel had a more supportive president in the White House, and never has Israel been so dependent on a US president, the writer asserts.

Shas pushes tone-deaf Torah study law while soldiers die in Lebanon, Gaza - comment

Those who see Torah study as essential should acknowledge the unique burden borne by those who leave their lives behind to defend the country, and that yeshiva study is not a comparable sacrifice.

Israel’s ultra-Orthodox Jewish sector has been protesting over the attempts to draft young haredi men into the military.

Netanyahu's Levi Eshkol moment: Why Israel defied Trump - analysis

Had Netanyahu bowed to Trump's request on Sunday and refrained from responding after Iran fired 11 ballistic missiles, Israel would have signalled weakness and constraint.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu walks outside his office at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, June 3, 2026.

The rant and the reality: Trump’s outbursts at Netanyahu follow a familiar pattern

DIPLOMATIC AFFAIRS: Trump’s latest expletive-laced outburst at Netanyahu generated predictable predictions of rupture. The record suggests otherwise.

‘DISAGREEMENTS BETWEEN Jerusalem and Washington are not unusual. Nor are disagreements between Trump and Netanyahu. What is striking is how often these episodes are portrayed as evidence of an impending rupture, only for the relationship to return to its previous equilibrium.'

Haredi daycare subsidies risk fueling enlistment backlash, political firestorms - analysis

The haredi parties may garner enough support from Netanyahu and the Likud to pass their childcare subsidy bill. But it may prove a hollow victory.

Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) Jewish men block a road and clash with police during a protest against the autopsy of toddlers who died earlier in a daycare, in Jerusalem, January 19, 2026.

Gofman ruling lays bare rules under dispute in Israel's political game - analysis

As Baharav-Miara warned of efforts to weaken democratic institutions, the system she was defending was in the process of rejecting her objections to one of Netanyahu’s most sensitive appointments.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and incoming Mossad chief Roman Gofman ordering the strikes on Iranian officials, March 16, 2026.

At Beaufort, Israel confronts the futility of withdrawal - analysis

Twenty-six years after Israel, under the cover of darkness, withdrew from Beaufort, it returned Saturday.

IDF soldiers operating in Lebanon's Beaufort Ridge, shared by the military on May 31, 2026.

America’s final four states through Israeli eyes - comment

We all carry around a private list of things we tell ourselves we’ll get to one day. Mine, for as long as I can remember, was to visit all 48 contiguous states.

Illustration of a road trip in the United States.