Author Archives: jonathanspyer

About jonathanspyer

Jonathan Spyer is a Middle East analyst, author and journalist specializing in the areas of Israel, Syria and broader issues of regional strategy. He is the director of the Middle East Center for Reporting and analysis (MECRA), a research fellow at the Jerusalem Institute for strategy and Security (JISS) and a Fellow at the Middle East Forum.

An arrest raid in Gush Etzion

Posted on February 26, 2024 by jonathanspyer

Jerusalem Post, 16/2 “You meet the terrorist at the end of the process, on the road, but there’s a whole system that leads up to that point, so if you can hit at what lies behind, and prevent it, then … Continue reading →

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Who Killed the Three US Soldiers In Tower 22?

Posted on February 3, 2024 by jonathanspyer

Jerusalem Post, 3/2 On Sunday, January 28, three US service personnel from the US Army Reserve’s 718 Engineer Company were killed at the Tower 22 outpost on the Jordan-Syrian border. An additional 34 soldiers were wounded, some suffering traumatic brain … Continue reading →

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Biden blindsided by Iran

Posted on February 2, 2024 by jonathanspyer

The Spectator, 2/2 The US has failed to stop Iran and its proxies Nine years ago, with Vice President Joe Biden at his side, US President Barack Obama announced the Iran nuclear deal. Ayatollah Khamenei’s regime would eliminate its stockpile of … Continue reading →

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War in Israel: the first 72 hours

Posted on October 15, 2023 by jonathanspyer

The Australian, 14-15/10 I was at Heathrow Airport, waiting for a plane back to Israel when messages, initially casual and nonchalant, began to appear on my Whatsapp feed.  It was Simchat Torah, the last day of the Jewish High Holy … Continue reading →

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50 Years Since the Yom Kippur War

Posted on September 25, 2023 by jonathanspyer

25/9/23 The Yom Kippur War of 1973  cast a shadow over my generation in Israel.  It was a distant and partial shadow, nevertheless, with its darkest parts only visible at certain points.  Mine, after all, was not the generation that … Continue reading →

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Ain al Hilweh fighting reflects Palestinian and Sunni Arab weakness

Posted on September 23, 2023 by jonathanspyer

Jerusalem Post, 23/9 A truce brokered earlier this week by the Lebanese General Security Service to end the ongoing fighting in the Palestinian Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp appears to have broken down, with renewed clashes taking place at various locations … Continue reading →

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Tsurkov Kidnapping Shows Who Really Runs Iraq

Posted on July 30, 2023 by jonathanspyer

Jerusalem Post, 28/7 The kidnapping of the Russian-Israeli Princeton doctoral student and Middle East analyst Elizabeth Tsurkov in Baghdad is the latest indication of who really runs Iraq.  The Ktaeb Hizballah organization, identified by the government of Israel and by … Continue reading →

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Report from the Frontlines in Bakhmut

Posted on July 24, 2023 by jonathanspyer

(A version of this article appeared in The Australian weekend edition, 22/7) ‘We think we’re doing well and moving forward, and that no other force could move faster than us,’  Oleg, 42, a company sergeant major in the Ukrainian Army’s … Continue reading →

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Pro-Assad activists seek to get Elizabeth Tsurkov killed

Posted on July 14, 2023 by jonathanspyer

The pro-Assad activists at Electronic Intifada, in an article entitled ‘What we know about Elizabeth Tsurkov’ are trying their feeble best to get a Jewish woman currently held in Iraq murdered. I’m not going to link to their site, so … Continue reading →

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Israel, alone?

Posted on May 7, 2023 by jonathanspyer

Jerusalem Post, 7/5 In a briefing to defense reporters in mid-April, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant noted that under his stewardship, Israeli attacks on Iranian infrastructure had significantly increased.  ‘Since I took office,’ Gallant said, ‘in the first quarter of … Continue reading →

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