Ron Ben-Yishai

Ron Ben-Yishai (; born October 26, 1943) is an Israeli journalist. A veteran war correspondent, Ben-Yishai has covered many military conflicts in several different regions. In 2018, he won the Israel Prize, Israel's most prestigious civic honor. Biography Ben-Yishai was born in Jerusalem in 1943. He graduated from the military boarding school near the Hebrew Reali School in Haifa in 1961. He joined the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and served in the Paratroopers Brigade and the Golani Brigade. He finished an infantry officers course and platoon commanders course, in addition to several command courses. He served in paratroopers field units as a reservist. He received a B.A. in economics and geography from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1967. He covered the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974 and also travelled to Portugal to make a documentary about the Marranos or secret Jews. From 1978 to 1981 he was Yedioth Ahronoth political correspondent in Washington, D.C. Meanwhile, he was a commentator for ABC. In 1981 he returned to the Israeli Television as a military correspondent. He covered the 1982 Lebanon War. In September, he informed the Israeli Minister of Defense, Ariel Sharon, of "an alleged massacre being committed by the Phalangists in the Sabra and Shatila camps in Beirut". He was the first journalist to enter the camps after the Sabra and Shatila massacre. In 2008, after winning a lifetime achievement award, he named it the most important achievement of his career. In 1983 he was appointed commander and chief editor of the Israel Army Radio, a position he held until 1985. He covered the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon. After leaving the Israel Army Radio, he became a commentator and reporter on military affairs for Yedioth Ahronoth, and was a correspondent for Time. He also edited and hosted, with Ram Evron, a talk show called Ze HaZman ("this is the time") on the Israeli Television from 1985 to 1987.