Amir Tibon (Hebrew: אמיר תיבון; born 11 February 1989) is an Israeli journalist and writer.[1] He works for Haaretz,[2] but has also worked for Walla! News.[3] He has also worked as a diplomatic correspondent.[4]
Biography
Tibon's great-grandfather was a German soldier in World War I, and fled the country after the Nazis came to power.[5]
In the early 2000s, Amir Tibon was a resident of Tel Aviv.[4] In late 2014, Tibon and his wife (then fiancée), Miri, moved to KibbutzNahal Oz, following a journalistic visit in August 2014.[4][6] The couple has two daughters.[6]
On 7 October 2023, Nahal Oz was attacked by Hamas militants while Tibon and his family were at home.[6] They remained in their house's safe room for ten hours until Tibon's father, Noam Tibon [he], a retired general, arrived from Tel Aviv, along with an Israeli soldier he picked up along the way.[6][7] Following his rescue, Tibon stated in an article on his experience that "the Israeli state failed us".[8]
On 9 October 2023, Tibon criticized American senator Josh Hawley for suggesting that American funding for Ukraine be redirected to Israel.[9] Tibon considers himself a "left-leaning" Zionist.[10] He noted in October 2024 that "Although I supported the war at the beginning...I now prefer an agreement to bring back the hostages and end the conflict".[5]
As of September 2024, Tibon and his family are living in Kibbutz Mishmar HaEmek.[11]
Journalism and literary career
In 2015, Tibon was one of 15 journalists who signed a letter criticizing a proposed policy that would prevent Israel Broadcasting Authority journalists from expressing their opinions on-air.[12] In 2016, Tibon wrote an article critical of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu for Walla.[13] The Prime Minister's Office unsuccessfully pressured the site to remove Tibon's article.[13]
Tibon began working as a Washington correspondent for Haaretz in early 2017, the week of Donald Trump's inauguration.[14] He continued working as a Washington correspondent through 2020.[15][16][17]
Tibon co-authored a biography of Mahmoud Abbas, entitled The Last Palestinian: The Rise and Reign of Mahmoud Abbas, which was published in 2017.[6][18][19]
In 2024, Tibon published The Gates of Gaza: A Story of Betrayal, Survival and Hope on Israel’s Borderlands, a non-fiction book about the October 7 attack on Nahal Oz and the events leading up to it.[20][21][10][22]
Awards and recognition
In January 2015, Tibon and fellow journalist Ben Birnbaum were nominated for a National Magazine Award for their reporting in The New Republic, entitled "How Close They Came".[23]
