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.

French President Emmanuel Macron is seen at the UN General Assembly.

How the UNGA earned applause and ensured the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will continue

A MAN blows a shofar outside the Jerusalem Central Bus Station. One of the areas of life on which we concentrate in the Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur period is health, says the writer.

Curses and blessings from 5785, and why it is important to recognize them - comment

(L-R): Ron Dermer, Israel Katz, Gideon Sa'ar

No. 7: Ron Dermer, Israel Katz, Gideon Sa’ar: Ministers shaping gov't policy


No. 32: Naftali Bennett: The former Israeli PM who may shape the nation's future

Without building a party, offering a platform, or unveiling a team, Naftali Bennett has already shifted the political map.

Naftali Bennett.

Battered in NY, buoyed in DC: Israel faces split-screen reality ahead of Netanyahu's UNGA trip

Benjamin Netanyahu will be vilified at the UN and welcomed in DC, highlighting Israel’s precarious standing – besieged by multilateral hostility, steadied by bilateral ties with the US.

NEXT WEEK will be Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s 14th speech to the UN General Assembly in that role. Here, he address the plenum last year by warning ‘Israel seeks peace. Israel yearns for peace.

Netanyahu's 'Sparta' metaphor obscures Israel's wartime economic reality - analysis

Even with boycotts, sanctions, and embargoes making life harder, Israel will continue trading, innovating, and exporting, at the same time as it develops greater self-reliance. 

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at Newsmax event in Jerusalem, on August 13, 2025.

Israel risks eroding trust underpinning Abraham Accords, Bahraini analyst tells 'Post' - interview

Bahraini analyst Ahmed Khuzaie says Israel’s Doha strike risks eroding the “warm peace” promised by the Abraham Accords, urging consultation with Gulf partners.

Israel's then-foreign minister Eli Cohen and Bahrain's Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Alzayani officially inaugurate the Israeli Embassy in Manama, Bahrain, September 4, 2023.

Camp David, Oslo, Abraham Accords: Three peace deals, three very different legacies - analysis

As the anniversaries of all three legendary deals approach, the success of each must be carefully analysed.

 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US President Donald Trump, Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif Al Zayani, and UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed wave, after an Abraham Accords signing ceremony at the White House in 2020.

Striking Hamas in Doha: Qatar's duplicity, the Gulf's ambivalence, and Israel's evolving doctrine

NATIONAL AFFAIRS: By striking Hamas leaders in Qatar, Israel challenged global hypocrisy, shattered Doha's mediator facade, and opened a new front in its fight against Hamas.

A damaged building, following an Israeli attack on Hamas leaders, according to an Israeli official, in Doha, Qatar, September 9, 2025

Israel’s Doha strike revives old questions of timing, targets, and diplomatic fallout - analysis

Israel’s Doha strike echoes past dilemmas, from Ariel Sharon’s 2003 near-miss to Mossad hits abroad, showing how opportunity and diplomacy clash.

Vehicles stop at a red traffic light, a day after an Israeli attack on Hamas leaders, in Doha, Qatar, September 10, 2025.

Hamas leaders will find no sanctuary, not even in Qatar, Israel strike signals - analysis

If Hamas is the octopus, then Qatar has been the reef where it camouflaged itself - hiding in plain sight while extending its reach.

 Former Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal speaks during an interview with Reuters in Doha, Qatar, October 5, 2024.

An Opposition’s orchestra, or just rearranging furniture? - analysis

As the upcoming 2026 elections loom in the not-so-distant future, the politicking has already begun.

Yesh Atid chairman MK Yair Lapid attends a Yesh Atid party conference in Tel Aviv, September 1, 2025.

Double standards placed on Gaza refugee crisis, in comparison to Ukraine, Syria - comment

Unlike the Ukraine-Russia war, in the Gaza war, not only are regional countries refusing to take in any refugees, but they argue that even considering the idea endangers their national interests.

Civilians who fled the war-torn Sudan following the outbreak of fighting between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) arrive at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) transit centre in Renk, South Sudan, May 1, 2023.