Ahron "Ronnie" Bregman ( he, אהרון ברגמן, born 1958) is a UK-based

political scientist Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

of Israeli origin, as well as a writer and journalist, specialising on the

Arab–Israeli conflict The Arab–Israeli conflict is an ongoing intercommunal phenomenon involving political tension, military conflicts, and other disputes between Arab countries and Israel, which escalated during the 20th century, but had mostly faded out by th ...

Biography

Bregman was born and raised in Israel. He served in the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...

and as an

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during si ...

officer participated in the 1978 Litani campaign and the

1982 Lebanon War The 1982 Lebanon War, dubbed Operation Peace for Galilee ( he, מבצע שלום הגליל, or מבצע של"ג ''Mivtsa Shlom HaGalil'' or ''Mivtsa Sheleg'') by the Israeli government, later known in Israel as the Lebanon War or the First L ...

. After the war he left the army to study

international relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such ...

and

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and ...

at the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

. He also worked as a

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

ary assistant in the

Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (wit ...

. After giving an interview in 1988 to the ''

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner ...

'' newspaper declaring that he would refuse to serve as a military

reservist A reservist is a person who is a member of a military reserve force. They are otherwise civilians, and in peacetime have careers outside the military. Reservists usually go for training on an annual basis to refresh their skills. This person is ...

in the

Israeli-occupied territories Israeli-occupied territories are the lands that were captured and occupied by Israel during the Six-Day War of 1967. While the term is currently applied to the Palestinian territories and the Golan Heights, it has also been used to refer to ...

, he left Israel and settled in England. There he joined the Department of War Studies,

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

, and completed his

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * '' Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. al ...

in 1994. Bregman is the writer of several books and articles on the

and Middle Eastern Affairs. Since 1994 he has been ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

''s writer of

obituaries An obituary (obit for short) is an article about a recently deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on positive aspects of the subject's life, this is not always the case. Acc ...

, covering the

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

world and Israel. A senior teaching fellow at the Department of

War Studies War studies, sometimes called polemology, is the multi-disciplinary study of war. It pertains to the military, diplomatic, philosophical, social, political, psychological or economic dimensions of human conflict. The word ''polemology'' deriv ...

and a journalist, Bregman lives in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. He has three children.

Marwan Affair

In 2002, Bregman claimed that the Egyptian Ashraf Marwan, the son-in-law of President

Gamal Abdel Nasser Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein, . (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian politician who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 and introduced far-r ...

, was a

Mossad Mossad ( , ), ; ar, الموساد, al-Mōsād, ; , short for ( he, המוסד למודיעין ולתפקידים מיוחדים, links=no), meaning 'Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations'. is the national intelligence agency ...

spy. According to Bregman, Marwan volunteered for the Mossad in 1970 but then proceeded to mislead the Israelis before the 1973

Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by E ...

. Although Marwan insisted that Bregman's claim was "a stupid detective story", they became friends and Marwan made Bregman a consultant on his memoirs. On 27 June 2007, the day that Bregman and Marwan were due to meet up in central London, Marwan's body was discovered in a small rose garden, just under the balcony of his London flat. A police investigation failed to establish whether Marwan was pushed or jumped. In 2016, Bregman published a book titled ''The Spy who Fell to Earth'' on his relationship with Marwan. In December 2017, Salon Pictures purchased the rights to turn it into a feature documentary. ''The Bregman Collection'', which includes papers and tapes related to the Marwan Affair, is kept at the Liddell Hart Archives,

. A documentary about Ashraf Marwan and Bregman's work, ''The Spy Who Fell to Earth'', came out on

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

in April 2019.

Productions

Bregman is the author of several books, as well as being associate producer/

consultant A consultant (from la, consultare "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice and other purposeful activities in an area of specialization. Consulting servi ...

of two major

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

Books

* ''The Spy Who Fell to Earth: My Relationship with the Secret Agent Who Rocked the Middle East'' * ''Living and Working in Israel'' * ''Israel's Wars: A History since 1947'' * ''Israel and the

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

s: An Eyewitness Account of War and Peace in the Middle East'' * ''The Fifty Years War: Israel and the Arabs'' (co-authored with Jihan El-Tahri, accompanying the below series) * ''Israël et les Arabes: la guerre de cinquante ans'' (

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

) * ''Israël en de Arabieren: De vijftigjarige oorlog'' ( Dutch) * اسرائيل والعرب : حرب الخمسين عاما (

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

) * 以色列史 ( Chinese) * ''Israel's Wars: 1947-93'' * ''A History of Israel'' * ''Elusive Peace: How the Holy Land Defeated

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

'' (accompanying the below series) * ''Warfare in the Middle East since 1945'' (editor) * ''Cursed Victory: A History of Israel and the Occupied Territories''Blood brothers: How to explain the toxic atmosphere in Israel and the occupied territories
economist.com.

Television

He was also an associate producer and academic consultant on two BBC television series: * ''Israel and the Arabs: The Fifty Years War'' * ''Israel and the Arabs: Elusive Peace''

References

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQmGPqQrMwc

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bregman, Ahron 1958 births Living people Israeli journalists Israeli political scientists Alumni of King's College London Israeli political writers Hebrew University of Jerusalem Faculty of Social Sciences alumni Israeli emigrants to the United Kingdom Israeli military writers Collections of the Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives