Barbara Opall-Rome

Opall-Rome is Israel bureau chief for Defense News. She has been covering U.S.-Israel strategic cooperation, Mideast security and missile defense since May 1988. She lives north of Tel Aviv. Visit her website at www.opall-rome.com.


  • Israel Girds for Gridlock with White House
    Israel Girds for Gridlock with White House

    Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new minister for science, technology and space has blasted US President Barack Obama as “a dictator” and insists his administration has not been a friend of Israel.

  • Israel Stocks Up on Bullet-Resistant Grenades
    Israel Stocks Up on Bullet-Resistant Grenades

    Israel’s Defense Ministry is restocking supplies of locally produced, nonsensitive IM26 hand grenades, proven for the first time in last summer’s Gaza war to withstand a direct hit by enemy fire without exploding.

  • Israel Debates New Ground Warfare Concepts
    Israel Debates New Ground Warfare Concepts

    Uniformed officers from nearly a dozen countries and hundreds of Israeli defense and industry representatives convened here last week for Ground Forces Israel Defense, an international conference and exhibition on the future of maneuvering war.

  • Israel, Germany Mark 50 Years of Ties
    Israel, Germany Mark 50 Years of Ties

    Leaders from Germany and Israel, in parallel meetings in Tel Aviv and Berlin, marked 50 years since the establishment of formal relations on May 12, 1965.

  • Israel, Greece and US to Conclude Maritime Drill
    Israel, Greece and US to Conclude Maritime Drill

    Israeli, Greek and US naval forces are wrapping up a two-week annual exercise aimed at honing maritime proficiencies and interoperability for potential joint missions in the Mediterranean.

  • TKMS Commits to $181M Offsets in 4-Ship Deal
    TKMS Commits to $181M Offsets in 4-Ship Deal

    After more than five years of negotiations, Israel’s Ministry of Defense hailed “maximum achievements” in a€430 million corvette package signed Monday with the German government and its strategic shipyard in Kiel.

  • Website Highlights Israel’s Anti-Tunnel Weapon
    Website Highlights Israel’s Anti-Tunnel Weapon

    Project Foxhole is the name of Israel’s secret weapon first employed in the final stages of Israel’s grueling anti-tunnel war in Gaza as part of Operation Protective Edge.

  • Selva Steeped in Israel-Palestinian Politics
    Selva Steeped in Israel-Palestinian Politics

    US President Barack Obama’s choice for vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is well versed in the challenges that have thus far prevented Israel and the Palestinian Authority from realizing US and international goals of a two-state peace deal

  • Israel Signs Heavy APC Deal With GDLS
    Israel Signs Heavy APC Deal With GDLS

    Israel’s Defense Ministry announced Tuesday that it signed a US $310 million contract with General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) to produce kits for its Namer (Leopard), a heavy troop carrier based on the indigenous Merkava Mk4 main battle tank.

  • Report Cites Shift in Israeli War Doctrine
    Report Cites Shift in Israeli War Doctrine

    Eyewitness accounts published Monday from last summer’s war in Gaza paint a disturbing portrait of overzealous, often indiscriminate fire on the part of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

  • Israel Girds for Gridlock with White House
    Israel Girds for Gridlock with White House

    Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new minister for science, technology and space has blasted US President Barack Obama as “a dictator” and insists his administration has not been a friend of Israel.

  • Israel Stocks Up on Bullet-Resistant Grenades
    Israel Stocks Up on Bullet-Resistant Grenades

    Israel’s Defense Ministry is restocking supplies of locally produced, nonsensitive IM26 hand grenades, proven for the first time in last summer’s Gaza war to withstand a direct hit by enemy fire without exploding.

  • Israel Debates New Ground Warfare Concepts
    Israel Debates New Ground Warfare Concepts

    Uniformed officers from nearly a dozen countries and hundreds of Israeli defense and industry representatives convened here last week for Ground Forces Israel Defense, an international conference and exhibition on the future of maneuvering war.

  • Israel, Germany Mark 50 Years of Ties
    Israel, Germany Mark 50 Years of Ties

    Leaders from Germany and Israel, in parallel meetings in Tel Aviv and Berlin, marked 50 years since the establishment of formal relations on May 12, 1965.

  • Israel, Greece and US to Conclude Maritime Drill
    Israel, Greece and US to Conclude Maritime Drill

    Israeli, Greek and US naval forces are wrapping up a two-week annual exercise aimed at honing maritime proficiencies and interoperability for potential joint missions in the Mediterranean.

  • TKMS Commits to $181M Offsets in 4-Ship Deal
    TKMS Commits to $181M Offsets in 4-Ship Deal

    After more than five years of negotiations, Israel’s Ministry of Defense hailed “maximum achievements” in a€430 million corvette package signed Monday with the German government and its strategic shipyard in Kiel.

  • Website Highlights Israel’s Anti-Tunnel Weapon
    Website Highlights Israel’s Anti-Tunnel Weapon

    Project Foxhole is the name of Israel’s secret weapon first employed in the final stages of Israel’s grueling anti-tunnel war in Gaza as part of Operation Protective Edge.

  • Selva Steeped in Israel-Palestinian Politics
    Selva Steeped in Israel-Palestinian Politics

    US President Barack Obama’s choice for vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is well versed in the challenges that have thus far prevented Israel and the Palestinian Authority from realizing US and international goals of a two-state peace deal

  • Israel Signs Heavy APC Deal With GDLS
    Israel Signs Heavy APC Deal With GDLS

    Israel’s Defense Ministry announced Tuesday that it signed a US $310 million contract with General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) to produce kits for its Namer (Leopard), a heavy troop carrier based on the indigenous Merkava Mk4 main battle tank.

  • Report Cites Shift in Israeli War Doctrine
    Report Cites Shift in Israeli War Doctrine

    Eyewitness accounts published Monday from last summer’s war in Gaza paint a disturbing portrait of overzealous, often indiscriminate fire on the part of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

  • Israel Girds for Gridlock with White House
    Israel Girds for Gridlock with White House

    Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new minister for science, technology and space has blasted US President Barack Obama as “a dictator” and insists his administration has not been a friend of Israel.

  • Israel Stocks Up on Bullet-Resistant Grenades
    Israel Stocks Up on Bullet-Resistant Grenades

    Israel’s Defense Ministry is restocking supplies of locally produced, nonsensitive IM26 hand grenades, proven for the first time in last summer’s Gaza war to withstand a direct hit by enemy fire without exploding.

  • Israel Debates New Ground Warfare Concepts
    Israel Debates New Ground Warfare Concepts

    Uniformed officers from nearly a dozen countries and hundreds of Israeli defense and industry representatives convened here last week for Ground Forces Israel Defense, an international conference and exhibition on the future of maneuvering war.

  • Israel, Germany Mark 50 Years of Ties
    Israel, Germany Mark 50 Years of Ties

    Leaders from Germany and Israel, in parallel meetings in Tel Aviv and Berlin, marked 50 years since the establishment of formal relations on May 12, 1965.

  • Israel, Greece and US to Conclude Maritime Drill
    Israel, Greece and US to Conclude Maritime Drill

    Israeli, Greek and US naval forces are wrapping up a two-week annual exercise aimed at honing maritime proficiencies and interoperability for potential joint missions in the Mediterranean.

  • TKMS Commits to $181M Offsets in 4-Ship Deal
    TKMS Commits to $181M Offsets in 4-Ship Deal

    After more than five years of negotiations, Israel’s Ministry of Defense hailed “maximum achievements” in a€430 million corvette package signed Monday with the German government and its strategic shipyard in Kiel.

  • Website Highlights Israel’s Anti-Tunnel Weapon
    Website Highlights Israel’s Anti-Tunnel Weapon

    Project Foxhole is the name of Israel’s secret weapon first employed in the final stages of Israel’s grueling anti-tunnel war in Gaza as part of Operation Protective Edge.

  • Selva Steeped in Israel-Palestinian Politics
    Selva Steeped in Israel-Palestinian Politics

    US President Barack Obama’s choice for vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is well versed in the challenges that have thus far prevented Israel and the Palestinian Authority from realizing US and international goals of a two-state peace deal

  • Israel Signs Heavy APC Deal With GDLS
    Israel Signs Heavy APC Deal With GDLS

    Israel’s Defense Ministry announced Tuesday that it signed a US $310 million contract with General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) to produce kits for its Namer (Leopard), a heavy troop carrier based on the indigenous Merkava Mk4 main battle tank.

  • Report Cites Shift in Israeli War Doctrine
    Report Cites Shift in Israeli War Doctrine

    Eyewitness accounts published Monday from last summer’s war in Gaza paint a disturbing portrait of overzealous, often indiscriminate fire on the part of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).