My Brother's Keeper

“A useful aid to understanding today’s headlines as well as Israel’s recent past.” –Kirkus Review

My Brother’s Keeper tells the behind-the-scenes story of how the American President and the Israeli Prime Minister clashed about peace, war, and the future of the region.

Barack Obama and Benjamin Netanyahu viewed the world—and especially the Middle East—differently. The US president wanted to end what he saw as America’s perpetual war against the Muslim and Arab worlds, use diplomacy to bring about a Palestinian state coexisting peacefully with Israel, and apply his signature foreign policy vision to reward the Islamic Republic of Iran in exchange for the scaling back of their nuclear pursuits. The Israeli premier wanted his country to thrive without the senseless bloodshed of terror and violence, and he was determined to protect the Jewish state from threats of annihilation by a member of the axis of evil that would one day be armed with nuclear weapons. Netanyahu wanted peace for peace, as well as the acceptance of Israel as a full-fledged part of the Middle East. In 2014, during a pivotal summer of terrorist violence, a war in Gaza, and the advancement of a nuclear deal with Iran, the two men clashed, threatening the US-Israeli strategic alliance and the future of the region. The Middle East would never be the same.

Ari Harow is an American-born Israeli who served as an advisor, bureau chief, and chief of staff to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Harow’s compulsory military service was spent in the elite Golani Infantry Brigade. He earned his BA in psychology from the City University of New York (CUNY), as well as an MA in political science from Tel Aviv University.

In 2007 Harow was appointed Foreign Affairs advisor to Netanyahu and his bureau chief in 2008, continuing in this position upon entering the Prime Minister’s Office in 2009. He left government in 2010 to launch a consulting firm working with dozens of political and business leaders around the globe.

Harow returned to government in 2014, and served as Prime Minister Netanyahu’s chief of staff during the pivotal events of that summer.

Ari is married to Talia Eckstein Harow and is a father of four and stepfather of two.