Yaakov Katz (journalist)

Yaakov Katz
Katz (left) with US Secretary of state Mike Pompeo (right) in 2019
Katz (left) with US Secretary of state Mike Pompeo (right) in 2019
Born1979 (age 45–46)
OccupationJournalist and author
NationalityIsraeli
Alma materBar Ilan University

Yaakov Katz (Hebrew: יעקב כץ, born 1979) is an American-born Israeli journalist and author who served as the Editor-in-Chief of The Jerusalem Post.

Career

Katz completed a law degree from Bar-Ilan University in 2007, and in 2013 was selected as an outstanding alumnus.[1]

From 2003 to 2013 Katz was the military correspondent and defense analyst for The Jerusalem Post,[2] and has also worked as the Israel correspondent for Jane's Defence Weekly[3] and USA Today.[4] His writings have also appeared in the Washington Post,[5] the New York Post,[6] The Daily Beast,[7] Al Jazeera English, Israel Defense, Newsmax, Special Operations Report, Fair Observer,[8] and other publications.

In 2012-2013, Katz was one of 12 international fellows to spend a year at the Nieman Foundation for Journalism[9][10] at Harvard.

In 2013 Katz became senior foreign policy advisor to Israel's Minister of Education and Diaspora Affairs Naftali Bennett.[2]

He became Editor-in-Chief at The Jerusalem Post in 2016.[11][12] In March 2023 he was replaced by Avi Mayer.[13]

His first book, Israel vs. Iran: The Shadow War,[14] which Katz co-authored with Yoaz Hendel, was published by Potomac Books in 2012 in the U.S. and by Kinneret Zmora-Bitan in Israel, where it spent several weeks on the bestseller list.[citation needed]

His second book, Weapons Wizards, written together with veteran Walla News military correspondent Amir Bohbot, was published by St. Martin's Press in 2017 and tells the behind-the-scenes story of how Israel invented its revolutionary weapons and military technology.[15][16] It has been translated into Czech, Polish, Hebrew and Mandarin.

His most recent book Shadow Strike: Inside Israel's Secret Mission to Eliminate Syrian Nuclear Power, was published in May 2019 by St. Martin's Press.[17] It was chosen as a finalist for the Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature.[18]

Katz has lectured at dozens of college campuses across the U.S. and is a frequent speaker on issues relating to Israeli security and Middle East politics.[19][20]

Personal life

Originally from Chicago, Katz moved to Israel in 1996.[2] He lives in Jerusalem with his wife and their four children.

Published works

  • Israel vs. Iran: The Shadow War, with Yaoz Hendel (Zmora -Bitan Books, April 2011, Potomac Books 2012, ISBN 9781597976688) Google Books
  • The Weapon Wizards: How Israel Became a High-Tech Military Superpower, with Amir Bohbot (St. Martin's Press, January 2017, ISBN 9781250088338)[21]
  • Shadow Strike: Inside Israel's Secret Mission to Eliminate Syrian Nuclear Power (St. Martin's Press, May 2019, ISBN 9781250191274)[22]

References

  1. ^ "Bar-Ilan Alumni Yaakov Katz: How Judaism has Created the World's most Moral Army". www.biubogrim.org.il. Archived from the original on 2015-11-22. Retrieved 2015-12-28.
  2. ^ a b c "'Post' military reporter Yaakov Katz named adviser to Bennett". The Jerusalem Post | Jpost.com. Archived from the original on 2016-01-06. Retrieved 2015-12-28.
  3. ^ "Jewish National Fund". www.jnf.org. Archived from the original on 2016-01-06. Retrieved 2015-12-28.
  4. ^ "Topics Index Page - USATODAY.com". usatoday30.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2015-12-28.
  5. ^ "Perspective | It's up to Israelis to stop Iran's nuclear program. Here's how they did it before". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2019-05-21. Retrieved 2019-05-21.
  6. ^ "Yaakov Katz". Archived from the original on 2019-05-08. Retrieved 2019-05-21.
  7. ^ "Yaakov Katz". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on 2017-05-04. Retrieved 2015-12-28.
  8. ^ "Israel vs. Iran: The Shadow War - Fair Observer". Fair Observer. 2012-06-28. Archived from the original on 2016-01-13. Retrieved 2015-12-28.
  9. ^ "'Post' reporter wins Harvard fellowship". The Jerusalem Post | Jpost.com. Archived from the original on 2016-01-06. Retrieved 2015-12-28.
  10. ^ "Yaakov Katz - Nieman Foundation". nieman.harvard.edu. Archived from the original on 2016-01-07. Retrieved 2015-12-28.
  11. ^ "Yaakov Katz named new 'Post' editor-in-chief". The Jerusalem Post | Jpost.com. Archived from the original on 20 April 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  12. ^ "עורך חדש ל"ג'רוזלם פוסט": יעקב כץ יחליף את סטיב לינדה". Walla News. 2016-04-13. Archived from the original on 2016-04-14. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  13. ^ Jerusalem Post staff (2023-03-21). "Avi Mayer named new editor-in-chief of 'The Jerusalem Post'". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 2023-04-15. Retrieved 2023-04-15.
  14. ^ "Israel vs. Iran - University of Nebraska Press". Archived from the original on 6 March 2016.
  15. ^ "Grapevine: Cutting-edge celebrations". The Jerusalem Post | Jpost.com. Archived from the original on 2015-12-19. Retrieved 2015-12-28.
  16. ^ Brooks, Rosa (3 February 2017). "How David Became Goliath: The Secret of Israel's Military Success". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 15 May 2018. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
  17. ^ "Shadow Strike | Yaakov Katz | Macmillan". Archived from the original on 2019-04-04. Retrieved 2019-05-21.
  18. ^ "Sami Rohr Prize announces finalists for 2020 literary prize". The Jerusalem Post | Jpost.com. Archived from the original on 2020-08-14. Retrieved 2020-07-17.
  19. ^ "2013 New Haven Community Event". www.aipac.org. Archived from the original on 2016-01-07. Retrieved 2015-12-28.
  20. ^ "Hasbara Fellowships - The Hasbara Campus Blog". www.hasbarafellowships.org. Archived from the original on 2016-01-06. Retrieved 2015-12-28.
  21. ^ "The Weapon Wizards | Yaakov Katz | Macmillan". US Macmillan. Retrieved 2019-04-04.
  22. ^ "Shadow Strike | Yaakov Katz | Macmillan". US Macmillan. Retrieved 2019-04-04.