Amir Tibon: DIE TORE VON GAZA

Tessa Szyszkowitz in conversation with Amir
Tibon





DIE TORE VON GAZA





Amir Tibon survived October 7th with his wife and two small
daughters in the shelter of their home at kibbuz Nahal Oz, very
close to the Gazastrip. His book „The Gates of Gaza/ Die Tore von
Gaza“ is not only telling the story of that terrible day on the
basis of many interviews with survivors. As the Diplomatic
Correspondent of the Israeli daily Ha’aretz Tibon is looking also
at the bigger picture. He narrates the history of the Kibbuz from
its beginnings, but he also sees October 7th as a huge failure by
the Israeli government, to keep the Israeli population safe: „If
Israelis in the communities near Gaza are not safe, is anyone in
Israel ever safe?“, he asked in an interview with the Austrian
Weekly Falter. In an editorial in Ha’aretz Tibon assessed at the
beginning of 2025, what impact the newly returned US-President
Donald Trump could have on the Middle East conflict: „The U.S.
invasion of Afghanistan was a direct result of 9/11, and Israel’s
war in Gaza was born out of October 7. However, over time, both
wars reached the point of bloody stalemate without a clear
political horizon, fought simply for the purpose of fighting and
not in service of any declared goals.“ Can Trump end the war in
Gaza as he has promised?
Amir Tibon will discuss his book and the chances for an end to
Israel’s wars in conversation with Tessa Syzsykowitz at
Bruno Kreisky Forum for International Dialogue.   





Amir Tibon is an award-winning diplomatic
correspondent for Haaretz, Israel’s paper of record, and the
author of The Last Palestinian: the rise and reign of
Mahmoud Abbas (co-authored with Grant Rumley), the
first-ever biography of the leader of the Palestinian Authority.
From 2017–2020, Tibon was based in Washington, DC, as a foreign
correspondent for Haaretz, and he also has served as a
senior editor for the newspaper’s English edition. He, his wife,
and their two young daughters are former residents of Kibbutz
Nahal Oz but are currently living as internal refugees in
northern Israel.





Tessa Szyszkowitz is an Austrian journalist and
author. A UK correspondent for Austrian and German publications
such as Falter or Tagesspiegel, she curates Philoxenia at
Kreiskyforum and she is a Distinguished Fellow of the Royal
United Services Institute in London.