Israeli academic and Al Jazeera contributor Ori Goldberg dies at 50

Israeli academic and independent analyst Ori Goldberg has died at the age of 50, his family has said.

His eldest daughter Avigail confirmed his death after a long battle with colon cancer in a statement on Goldberg’s X account on Sunday.

“In one sentence, he was the best dad in the world. But you can’t really describe him in one sentence, and I don’t think I’ll have the courage to try,” she wrote.

In a separate post on Goldberg’s X account, his eldest son, identified as Dave, said his father was “the light where things looked dark”.

Goldberg was a frequent contributor to Al Jazeera’s website where his opinion pieces focused on Middle East affairs.

In his final piece for the Qatar-based media network last month, he wrote about Israeli authorities’ reaction to the award-winning documentary NAZA, by Yuval Avraham and Rachel Szor.

In a memorable piece titled Israel is imploding in December 2025, he explored whether Israel could be losing its status as regional hegemon while the Israeli state and society become increasingly dysfunctional.

“An international coalition, led by the United States with the participation of Qatar, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye, is gradually removing Gaza from Israel’s control, as well as pressuring Israel out of its territorial escapades in Syria and Lebanon,” he wrote.

In another piece from the same month titled Netanyahu will win again he explained why the Israeli prime minister’s supporters would likely vote for him in a 2026 election.

“He is ‘their’ man, the one who represents them against the elites who feel the country is theirs by right. He alone, through his audacity and cunning, took the fight to Israel’s enemies and brought them to their knees.” he wrote.  “[Netanyahu] is the one who broke the paradigm that put Israel at the mercy of the world. Israel now does as it wishes, and those desires are for Israel alone to articulate”.

Goldberg also appeared regularly on Al Jazeera English news and current affairs shows including Inside Story.

He received a PhD in History from Tel Aviv University in 2008 and wrote his dissertation on the role of religious experience in the creation and application of Iranian Shia revolutionary discourse during the second half of the 20th century.

He received many awards and scholarships, including a fellowship at the Mellon Foundation from 2013 to 2015.