Jonathan Spyer

Spyer was raised in London. He is of Russian Jewish and Central Asian heritage. Spyer immigrated to Israel from Britain in 1991. He earned a PhD in International Relations from the London School of Economics and a master's degree in Middle East Politics from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London. From 1992 to 1993, he served in the 188th Armored Brigade of the Israel Defense Forces and fought in the 2006 Lebanon War as a reservist. During that war, Spyer's tank was hit by two Kornet missiles, while deployed in a valley beneath the town of Al-Khiam.{{cite news |title=Jonathan Spyer |url=https://www.bloomsbury.com/author/jonathan-spyer/ |agency=Bloomsbury Publishing }}{{cite news |date=28 June 2014 |title=ד"ר ג'ונתן ספייר מנתח את דאע"ש - ארגון הטרור האכזרי בעולם |url=https://www.globes.co.il/news/article.aspx?did=1000948956 |work=Globes }}

Spyer resides in Jerusalem.

In September, 2020, Spyer revealed that he had been banned from travel to the US, on the grounds of Section 212 of the US Immigration and Nationality Act 'which prohibits issuance of a visa to a person who at any time engaged in terrorist activities or was associated with a terrorist organization.'{{cite news |date=4 October 2020 |title=Lift the US Ban on Journalist Jonathan Spyer|url=https://www.algemeiner.com/2020/10/04/lift-the-us-ban-on-journalist-jonathan-spyer/|work=The Algemeiner}} Spyer wrote of his suspicion that his acquaintance with senior officials of the PKK might have been the cause. {{cite news |date=29 September 2020|title=US bans me for committing journalism|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-bans-me-for-committing-journalism-11601418550|work=The Wall Street Journal}} The ban was subsequently rescinded.{{cite web|url=https://www.jns.org/us-rescinds-entry-ban-of-israeli-british-journalist/ |title=US rescinds entry ban of Israeli-British journalist |publisher=Jns.org |date=2020-10-09 |accessdate=2021-11-21}}

File:Jonathan Spyer in Northern Syria.jpg fighters in Ras al-Ayn, northeastern Syria.]]

Spyer is a freelance security analyst and correspondent for Jane's Information Group, a fellow at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security and the Middle East Forum,{{cite web|url=https://jiss.org.il/en/author/jospyer/|title=Dr. Jonathan Spyer|website=JISS|language=en-US|access-date=2018-06-25}}{{cite news |title=Writing Fellows |url=http://www.meforum.org/fellows.php |agency=Middle East Forum |access-date=24 January 2018 |archive-date=19 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140319084245/http://www.meforum.org/fellows.php |url-status=dead }}{{cite news |title=Writings by Jonathan Spyer |url=http://www.meforum.org/author/Jonathan+Spyer |agency=Middle East Forum }} and a columnist for The Jerusalem Post.{{cite news |title=Jonathan Spyer |url=http://www.jpost.com/Author/Jonathan-Spyer |work=The Jerusalem Post }}

In the 2010s, Spyer traveled to Syria and Iraq numerous times, generally for around two-week periods. He spent about half the time of his trips in Kurdish-held areas. These experiences were the basis for Spyer's 2017 book, Days of the Fall: A Reporter’s Journey in the Syria and Iraq Wars, published by Routledge.{{cite news |date=19 November 2017 |title=Israeli journalist describes reporting from Syria and Iraq, hiding his secret |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-journalist-describes-reporting-from-syria-and-iraq-hiding-his-secret/ |work=The Times of Israel }}

In October 2014, Spyer revealed evidence of possession and use of chemical weapons, likely mustard gas, by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), in northern Syria.{{cite news |date=12 October 2014 |title=MERIA Special Report: Did ISIS Use Chemical Weapons Against The Kurds in Kobani? |url=http://www.rubincenter.org/2014/10/meria-special-report-did-isis-use-chemical-weapons-against-the-kurds-in-kobani-warning-graphic-content/ |work=MERIA Journal |access-date=24 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225131243/http://www.rubincenter.org/2014/10/meria-special-report-did-isis-use-chemical-weapons-against-the-kurds-in-kobani-warning-graphic-content/ |archive-date=25 December 2018 |url-status=dead }}{{cite news |date=13 October 2014 |title=ISIS May Have Chemical Weapons |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/13/isis-chemical-weapons_n_5979848.html |work=HuffPost }} In June, 2015, Spyer traveled with the Iraqi Shia militia Ktaeb Hizballah in Iraq's Anbar Province and observed the militia in action against Islamic State forces. He also interviewed the movement's leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis at this time.{{cite web| url = https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-u-s-iran-showdown-begins-in-iraq-11577750711| title = The U.S.-Iran Showdown Begins in Iraq - WSJ}} In April 2017, Spyer traveled to regime-controlled Syria under his British passport as part of a government-sponsored media tour. On that trip, he posed as a British supporter of the Syrian government, interviewed Syrian government ministers and was photographed with Syrian Minister of Reconciliation Ali Haidar and Minister of Information, Mohammed Tourjeman. In January 2018, Al Arabiya reported that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad fired Tourjeman for permitting Spyer, an Israeli, entry into the country.{{cite news |date=1 January 2018 |title=بشار الأسد يقيل وزيري دفاعه وإعلامه وهذه هي الخلفيات |url=https://www.alarabiya.net/ar/arab-and-world/syria/2018/01/01/%D8%A8%D8%B4%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%B3%D8%AF-%D9%8A%D9%82%D9%8A%D9%84-%D9%88%D8%B2%D9%8A%D8%B1%D9%8A-%D8%AF%D9%81%D8%A7%D8%B9%D9%87-%D9%88%D8%A5%D8%B9%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%87-%D9%88%D9%87%D8%B0%D9%87-%D9%87%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AE%D9%84%D9%81%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%AA.html |agency=Al Arabiya }}{{cite news |date=2 January 2018 |title=Report: Assad Fires Minister for Allowing Israeli Journalist to Tour Syria |url=https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/syria/report-assad-fires-minister-for-allowing-israeli-journalist-to-tour-syria-1.5630229 |work=Haaretz }}{{cite news |date=2 January 2018 |title=Syrian minister said fired over visit by Israeli journalist, who met him twice |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/syrian-minister-fired-over-israeli-journalists-visit-report/ |work=The Times of Israel }}

Spyer has reported extensively from Ukraine. He was present at the Maidan protests in Kyiv in 2013. {{Cite web |date=2013-12-30 |title=Putin's Move on Ukraine |url=https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/weekly-standard/putins-move-on-ukraine |access-date=2023-12-16 |website=Washington Examiner |language=en}} He also reported from Kyiv in early March, 2022,{{Cite web |date=2022-03-05 |title=Dispatch from Kyiv: A city prepares its defenses |url=https://www.jpost.com/international/article-700434 |access-date=2023-12-16 |website=The Jerusalem Post {{!}} JPost.com |language=en-US}} and from the Donbas front in 2022 and 2023. {{Cite web |date=2023-07-04 |title=On the frontline with Zelensky's gunners in Donbas - exclusive |url=https://www.jpost.com/international/article-748870 |access-date=2023-12-16 |website=The Jerusalem Post {{!}} JPost.com |language=en-US}}

In 2022, Spyer revealed evidence of a secret network of prisons maintained by the Turkish government and its militia allies in Syria, in which more than 8000 Syrians have been incarcerated. {{Cite web |date=2022-04-14 |title=Erdogan's secret prisons in Syria |url=https://www.jpost.com/international/article-704250 |access-date=2023-12-16 |website=The Jerusalem Post {{!}} JPost.com |language=en-US}} The revelations led to discussion in the US Congress and the inclusion of a reference to the 'unlawful prisons' in the House Appropriations Bill of 2024. Spyer is also involved in efforts to designate the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and its allied militias as terrorist organizations. He presented evidence to the UK Parliament in this regard.

Spyer reported on the Israel-Hamas war of 2023, and entered the Gaza Strip accompanying Israeli forces. {{Cite web |date=2023-12-08 |title=Driving out darkness with the 36th Division in Shejaia |url=https://www.jpost.com/arab-israeli-conflict/gaza-news/article-777200 |access-date=2023-12-16 |website=The Jerusalem Post {{!}} JPost.com |language=en-US}}

Spyer's reporting and analysis of Middle Eastern affairs has been published in numerous outlets including The Wall Street Journal,{{cite news |date=26 September 2012 |title=Inside Assad's Killing Fields |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10000872396390444813104578014651264953138 |work=The Wall Street Journal }} The Guardian,{{cite news |title=Jonathan Spyer |url=https://www.theguardian.com/profile/jonathanspyer |work=The Guardian }} The Times,{{cite news |date=August 30, 2006 |title=Our tank was a death trap |url=https://www.thetimes.com/comment/register/article/our-tank-was-a-death-trap-8rrl9hknd3d |work=The Times }} The Weekly Standard,{{cite news |title=Jonathan Spyer Articles |url=http://www.weeklystandard.com/author/jonathan-spyer |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120105045406/http://www.weeklystandard.com/author/jonathan-spyer |url-status=dead |archive-date=5 January 2012 |work=The Weekly Standard }} Foreign Policy,{{cite news |title=Jonathan Spyer |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/author/jonathan-spyer/ |work=Foreign Policy }} and The American Interest.{{cite news |title=Jonathan Spyer |url=https://www.the-american-interest.com/v/jonathan-spyer/ |work=The American Interest }}

• {{cite book |date=2017 |title=Days of the Fall: A Reporter's Journey in the Syria and Iraq Wars |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781351359245 }}
• {{cite book |date=2014 |title=The Rise of Nationalism: The Arab World, Turkey, and Iran |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=9781633559240 }}
• {{cite book |date=2010 |title=The Transforming Fire: The Rise of the Israel-Islamist Conflict |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=9781441111814 }}

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• {{official|https://jonathanspyer.com/}}

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Category:Living people

Category:English emigrants to Israel

Category:Alumni of the London School of Economics

Category:Alumni of SOAS University of London

Category:Israeli non-fiction writers

Category:English non-fiction writers

Category:Year of birth missing (living people)