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.