Mourning in Israeli media: Journalist Oren Nahari passes away at 70
Veteran Israeli journalist Oren Nahari has passed away at the age of 70. He had been battling Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), a diagnosis he shared publicly in early 2026. For over four decades, Nahari was a central figure in international news coverage, serving as a reporter, editor, and commentator.
Mourning in Israeli media: Journalist Oren Nahari passed away on Thursday at the age of 70. Nahari, one of Israel's most prominent international news journalists, served for decades as a reporter, editor, and commentator at the Israel Broadcasting Authority. Earlier this year, he revealed that he was battling Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and that his condition was deteriorating rapidly. He is survived by his wife and two children. His funeral will take place today at 18:00 at the Menucha Nechona cemetery in Petah Tikva.
Just five days ago, Nahari presented his final program on Reshet Bet and said goodbye to his listeners:
"This is the last program of 'Saturday with Oren Nahari' and the podcast 'A Year in an Hour'. As many of you know, I have ALS. The disease is progressing rapidly. It is already affecting my respiratory, swallowing, and speech systems, and I will not be able to continue broadcasting."
Oren Nahari was born in October 1955 in Haifa. He was the son of David Nahari (Teich), a career officer and later a Mossad operative, and Tamar, a piano teacher. He served in the IDF in intelligence roles and later studied political science and international relations at the Hebrew University. His media career began in the sports department of Channel 1 under the management of Alex Giladi. In 1985, he moved to the news department, and three years later, he became one of the founders of the iconic program 'Roim Olam' ('Seeing the World').
Throughout his career, he reported from the field on some of history's most dramatic moments, from the first democratic elections in South Africa to the September 11 attacks. He interviewed figures such as Nelson Mandela, the Dalai Lama, Václav Havel, and George Bush. In 2013, he was awarded the Sokolov Award for his significant contribution to journalism.
In March 2026, in an interview for the program 'Meeting with Roni Kuban' on Kan 11, he spoke candidly about his illness:
"This is one of the most terrible diseases there is. An incurable disease, which means that all voluntary muscles begin to atrophy. In a case where you are looking at a future where you are paralyzed, in full cognition, lying in bed and cannot move a single muscle except for blinking your eyes for many years — I have no intention of reaching that."
In his final broadcast on August 8, 2026, Nahari concluded: "My voice is fading, the breathing that was once taken for granted has become an effort, and the speech, my work tool for decades, is becoming more difficult day by day. ALS is gradually and mercilessly taking from me the ability to do one of the things I love most — to tell you in my own voice what is happening in the world."
