Yossi Melman

Yossi Melman studied at Harvard University. The recorded working language is Hebrew. Employment is recorded with Maariv, Haaretz and IDF Radio. Works named in the authority record are Swiss Leaks, Secrecy for Sale: Inside the Global Offshore Money Maze, Collateral Damage and Making a Killing. Distinctions recorded are Sokolov Award.

• Name — Yossi Melman • Native Name — יוסי מלמן • Birth Name — Yosef Melman • Born — 27 December 1950 • Birthplace — Poland • Citizenship — Israel • Occupation — Writer, journalist • Employer — Haaretz, The Jerusalem Post, Maariv

Yosef "Yossi" Melman was born in Poland. The family immigrated to Israel in 1957, when he was six years old. In his youth, he belonged to the HaShomer HaTzair movement. From 1969 Melman served for three years with "Shaked", a reconnaissance and Special Forces unit in the Israel Defense Forces. He graduated from Hebrew University of Jerusalem and was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University. Since 1974, Melman has worked in various capacities in the Israeli media. He has worked for 27 years in the Israeli Haaretz daily as a senior correspondent on national security, intelligence and strategic issues. Melman was involved in several legal and public battles to lift gag orders issued by Israeli courts and censors. He wrote 10 non-fiction books on the Israeli Intelligence Community, security, terrorism and nuclear issues which were published in more than 40 countries in 15 languages. One of his books, Every Spy a Prince, co-authored with former CBS News reporter Dan Raviv, was a New York Times best-seller for 12 weeks. Melman also wrote a play in Hebrew, The Good Son, staged by the Tel Aviv Cameri Theater in 2006. In 2016 he was a consultant and protagonist in Alex Gibney's documentary Zero Days, which won the Peabody Award. In 2017 he created with director Duki Dror a four-part TV documentary called The Mossad Cover Story. The series received good reviews in the Israeli media. In 2019, it was aired by Netflix under the title Inside The Mossad. Melman is an avid runner and triathlete who ran 35 marathons in Europe and the US, six ultramarathons of 50 to 75 km and four Ironman Triathlons. He is the initiator and founder of "Israman" (Israel's Ironman). In 2009, eighty days after suffering a heart attack, he returned to run a full marathon. One of his books in Hebrew is called "Autobiography of Running". In December 2016 he ran 66 km to mark his 66th birthday. In 2020, US President Donald Trump retweeted Melman's account of the killing of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, head of the nuclear program of Iran. In 2022 he wrote (together with Marc Dugain) the script for the French-Hebrew-English film and series Munich: Of Games And Blood (Des Jeux Et Du Sang Munich 1972) directed by Philippe Saada. In 2025, marking the 30th anniversary of the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, he created and wrote the screenplay for a Hebrew-language documentary examining the incitement by the extreme right and by Benjamin Netanyahu that led to the murder, as well as the Shin Bet's failure to prevent it. According to Melman, the film's themes resonate deeply with October 7 attacks. In 2026, he was a partner in creating his fifth film, "The Sunrise File". This is an animated film that tells about the secret connections between the Nazi hunter couple Serge and Beate Klarsfeld and the Mossad, and their attempts to persuade the Israeli intelligence agency to act to assassinate Klaus Barbie ("The Butcher of Lyon"), and other Nazi war criminals. Melman is one of the film's producers, and the film is based on his writing and a story he wrote about Mossad documents he obtained. Melman is married to Billie Rozensweig, a Tel Aviv-born Israeli historian. They have two children: Yotam and Daria.

Melman has stated that he considers himself a left-wing Israeli, and that Israel must abandon the occupied territories to live in peace with a Palestinian state. However, he has also said that the Palestinians should not be given the right of return, as that would defeat the idea of a two-state solution in Israeli minds. While supporting the peace process with the Palestinians, Melman believes that Israel must retain its strong military capabilities, including its nuclear deterrence. Melman was described by WikiLeaks in February 2012 as an "information mule" who had "channeled tips to the Mossad", assertions that were contested by Melman in his review of his relationship with Julian Assange, whom he believes has made anti-Semitic statements.

Works recorded as notable number 4: Swiss Leaks, Secrecy for Sale: Inside the Global Offshore Money Maze, Collateral Damage and Making a Killing.

Yossi Melman is recorded as journalist, historian and writer.