Yossi Melman

Yossi Melman is an Israeli commentator on security and intelligence affairs for the Israeli news website Walla and the co-author with CBS News Correspondent Dan Raviv of Spies Against Armageddon: Inside Israel's Secret Wars. They blog at IsraelSpy.com.

Israel | Feb 25, 2013

Prisoner X, the Mossad andThe Futility of Censorship

Yossi Melman reviews the recent history of Israeli censorship in the name of security and recommends that Israel end the practice.

The headstone of the grave of Ben Zygier, the Australian whom local media have identified as the man who died in an Israeli prison in 2010 and who may have been recruited by Israeli intelligence agency Mossad, is pictured at a Jewish cemetery in Melbourne February 14, 2013. Israel broke its official silence on Wednesday over the reported suicide in jail of an Australian immigrant recruited to its spy service Mossad, giving limited details on a closely guarded case. After appeals by local media chafing at Is

Israel | Jan 5, 2013

Israeli Elections Elicit Little Hope for Change

Elections in Israel are two weeks away, but the electorate shows little sign of interest in substantive issues, writes Yossi Melman.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C) is seen during the launch of his Likud Beiteinu party campaign ahead of the upcoming January 22 national elections, in Jerusalem December 25, 2012. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS)

Israel | Nov 7, 2012

Netanyahu Sought to Provoke, Not Attack, Iran in 2010

Sometime in 2010, Netanyahu and Barak had a secret meeting with their top ministers. The purpose of that meeting was to discuss ways to create tension with Iran, writes Yossi Melman.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) shares a laugh with his aide-de-camp Major-General Yohanan Locker during the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem November 4, 2012. Israel has stopped the unapproved influx of African migrants across its border with Egypt, Netanyahu said on Sunday after months of intensive counter-measures on the once porous desert frontier. REUTERS/Gali Tibbon/Pool (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS SOCIETY IMMIGRATION)

Iran | Sep 26, 2012

Is Iranian Response to Israel Rational, Reasonable?

Many Israeli officials and commentators interpret an Iranian general's statements about a "pre-emptive strike" as an escalation of the threat against the Jewish state. Al-Monitor's Yossi Melman attributies the warning to psychological warfare, writing that Iran's leaders have so far behaved rationally and know their limitations.

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on leaving the office to report, film or take pictures in Tehran.

Iranian soldiers shout anti-U.S. slogans during the anniversary ceremony of Iran's Islamic Revolution at the Khomeini shrine in the Behesht Zahra cemetery, south of Tehran, February 1, 2012. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY ANNIVERSARY)

Israel | Aug 17, 2012

Netanyahu and Barak Gambling With Israeli Lives, US Relations

Yossi Melman writes that Israel's prime minister and defense minister are clearly preparing the groundwork for a cabinet vote on whether to bomb Iran. Why the rush? Netanyahu and Barak may be trying to provoke Iran to lose its nerve and stage a pre-emptive strike, which is dangerous enough, but they should also take care to preserve US support.