Susan Hattis Rolef

Dr. Susan Hattis Rolef was born in Haifa in 1943 to parents who made Aliya from Chicago in 1932. She received her primary and high-school education at the Reali School in Haifa, the Arts Educational School of ballet and acting at Tring Park, and the College for Arts and Technology in Cambridge, in the UK. She received a BSc in International Relation from the London School of Economics in 1965, and a PhD in International Relations from the Institute for Higher International Studies in Geneva Switzerland in 1970.

Rolef was a lecturer in International Relations at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem in the years 1969-1975. She continued to engage in academic research, and at the same time wrote for various newspapers (including The Jerusalem Post) and magazines in Hebrew and English, in Israel and abroad. From1977 to 1994. She worked with various leading figures in the Israel Labor Party, including the late Yigal Allon. She became a Knesset employee in 1994, where she engaged in research and information, and contacts with foreign parliaments.

Rolef retired from the Knesset in December 2010, and is currently volunteering at the Botanical Garden at Givat Ram in Jerusalem in addition to writing a weekly column in The Jerusalem Post. She is about to publish a book on "The job of being Knesset member in comparative perspective".

Her academic publications include dozens of articles and chapters in books on a wide range of subjects, and a Political Dictionary of the State of Israel. Her PhD thesis, on "The Bi-National Idea in Palestine in Mandatory Times", was published in 1970.
THE COUNT since October 7, 2023 continues at Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, as people visited yesterday. Should all 48 be brought back as bodies, Israeli society is liable to suffer a fundamental blow, the writer warns.

Have Netanyahu's strikes on Qatari soil gone too far? - opinion

Even if what is happening is not the result of a deliberate Israeli policy, Israel’s erratic decision-making and conduct do not look good.

SEPTEMBER 15, 2025
DEMONSTRATORS CALL for the release of the hostages in Gaza, in Tel Aviv last month. Most of the hostages’ families feel that the prime minister is not fully committed to bringing the hostages home, as a priority, says the writer.

What does Netanyahu want out of the Gaza war? - opinion

The question remains whether Netanyahu really supports the conquest of Gaza, is being pressured by his extreme right coalition partners, or is trying to persuade Hamas to adopt more flexible stance.

SEPTEMBER 8, 2025
DAN MARGALIT undoubtedly belonged to the pantheon of famous Israeli journalists who, for better or worse (mostly for better), left a mark on Israeli journalism and TV programs, says the writer.

Remembering Dan Margalit: Leaving a mark on Israeli media for better or worse - opinion

Margalit belonged to the pantheon of famous Israeli journalists who left a mark on Israeli journalism and TV programs.

SEPTEMBER 1, 2025

The state of the Israeli economy - opinion

One major difficulty when evaluating Israel’s current economic situation is the lack of concrete data about the government’s operational plans regarding the war in Gaza.

AUGUST 25, 2025
FINANCE MINISTER Bezalel Smotrich addresses a news conference at the Finance Ministry in Jerusalem earlier this month. That Smotrich is not an economist, and is quite ignorant of current economic theory and practice, is no secret, says the writer.

The new Knesset Museum: Is one of its tasks to bolster democracy? - opinion

The dissonance between what is happening in today’s Knesset and what is displayed in the Knesset Museum is worth considering.

AUGUST 18, 2025
PRIME MINISTER Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at the opening ceremony of the new Knesset Museum as Speaker Amir Ohana looks on, in Jerusalem last week.

Conquest of the Gaza Strip: Is such a move necessary immediately? - opinion

In fact, the word 'conquest' doesn’t appear in the final decisions of the security cabinet, and deliberately so. Instead, the decisions speak of 'taking control of Gaza City.'

AUGUST 11, 2025
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in front of a map of Gaza (illustration).

Israel is letting its international status deteriorate - opinion

Israel's actions in Gaza have created a situation in which its international status keeps getting worse.

AUGUST 4, 2025
A PROTEST MARCH at which Israel is accused of ‘starving Gaza’ takes place in New York City last month. Even Left and Center Israelis cannot deny that antisemitic prejudices play a role in Israel’s deteriorating international status, says the writer.

The ousting of Yuli Edelstein: Israeli politics reaches a new low - opinion

The vote by Likud lawmakers is problematic from political, democratic, and ideological perspectives.

JULY 28, 2025
MK YULI EDELSTEIN attends a meeting of the Knesset plenum last week. Though his record of upholding the rule of law is far from perfect, he nevertheless has a reputation as a serious and experienced politician, the writer maintains.

Israel has no concrete policy for the Gaza Strip - opinion

Since October 2023, Israel has failed to present any sort of concrete, overall plan for the Gaza Strip's future.

JULY 20, 2025
IDF CHIEF OF STAFF Eyal Zamir speaks at an event for outstanding soldiers, on Independence Day at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem, in May. He is opposed to the IDF taking upon itself the administration of the Gaza Strip, says the writer.

Between the public and private: Focusing on the news and life in Israel - opinion

While we go about our daily private lives, public life seems to stay largely the same, with no resolution to the conflict.

JULY 14, 2025
PRIME MINISTER Benjamin Netanyahu sits next to his wife, Sara, at a dinner with US President Donald Trump at the White House last week. There’s no clearer picture today on the hostages than before the visit, says the writer.

Trump vs Israel's legal system: Why canceling Netanyahu's trial is so difficult - opinion

Trump certainly has little or no knowledge about Israel’s legal and judicial systems. The US president is not really well informed about the essence of Netanyahu’s trial.

JUNE 30, 2025
PRIME MINISTER Benjamin Netanyahu arrives for his trial at the Tel Aviv District Court earlier this month. US President Trump certainly has little or no knowledge about Israel’s legal and judicial systems, the writer argues.

Midnight Hammer: How Trump outsmarted Congress, the media, and Iran in one move - opinion

Like most other Israelis, there was nothing I wanted more this past week than that US President Donald Trump would decide to enter the war on our side. And then he did.

JUNE 22, 2025
US President Donald Trump attends a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, April 10, 2025.

Israel strikes Iran: Strategic success or start of an uncertain future? - opinion

We have no idea what awaits us in the next few weeks or months.

JUNE 16, 2025
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Israel Katz attend a Plenum session of the Knesset, Israel's Parliament, in Jerusalem, June 11, 2025.