Washington and Jerusalem Blitzer began his career in journalism in the early 1970s, in the
Tel Aviv bureau of the
Reuters news agency. In 1973, he caught the eye of
Jerusalem Post editor
Ari Rath, who hired Blitzer as a Washington correspondent for the English-language Israeli newspaper. Blitzer remained with
The Jerusalem Post until 1990, covering both American politics and developments in the Middle East. Fluent in
Hebrew, Blitzer also published articles in several Hebrew-language newspapers. Under the name Ze'ev Blitzer, he wrote for
Al HaMishmar. Using the name Ze'ev Barak, he had work published in
Yedioth Ahronoth. ''Ze'ev
(זאב) is the Hebrew word for "wolf", and Barak
(ברק) is the Hebrew word for "lightning" (which in German/Yiddish is Blitz
/blits''). In the mid-1970s, Blitzer also worked for the
American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) as the editor of their monthly publication, the
Near East Report. While at AIPAC, Blitzer's writing focused on Middle East affairs as they relate to
United States foreign policy. At an April 1977
White House press conference, Blitzer asked Egyptian President
Anwar Sadat why Egyptian scholars, athletes, and journalists were not permitted to visit Israel. Sadat responded that such visits would be possible after an end to the state of belligerence between the two nations. In November of that year, Sadat made a historic visit to Israel, and Blitzer covered the negotiations between the two countries from the first joint Israeli-Egyptian press conference in 1977, to the final negotiations that would lead to the signing of the
Egypt–Israel peace treaty two years later.
Jonathan Pollard In 1986, Blitzer became known for his coverage of the arrest and trial of
Jonathan Pollard, a US Navy intelligence analyst who was charged with spying for Israel. and he later wrote a book about the
Pollard Affair titled
Territory of Lies: The Exclusive Story of Jonathan Jay Pollard : The American Who Spied on His Country for Israel and How He Was Betrayed. In the book, Blitzer writes that Pollard contacted him because he had been reading Blitzer's byline for years, and because Blitzer "had apparently impressed him as someone who was sympathetic." Pollard also hoped that Blitzer would help him "reach the people of Israel, as well as the American Jewish community." Blitzer's interview with Pollard was controversial in the context of the legal action against him, as it was construed by some media voices as a possible violation of the terms of Pollard's plea deal, which forbade media contact. Blitzer's subsequent book about the affair was included in
The New York Times list of "Notable Books of the Year" for 1989. In its review, the
Times praised the book as "lucid and highly readable" and called Blitzer's judgment of Israeli officials "harsh but fair". A review by journalist
Robert I. Friedman in
The New York Review of Books was more critical, prompting a letter from Blitzer accusing him of making several inaccurate statements. Friedman responded to Blitzer's criticism by characterizing
Territory of Lies as "a slick piece of damage control that would make [Blitzer's] former employers at AIPAC (not to mention Israel's Defense Ministry) proud." Pollard was released on November 20, 2015, in accordance with federal guidelines in place at the time of his sentencing.
CNN and Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton at NATO headquarters in
Brussels, April 18, 2012. In May 1990, Blitzer moved to CNN and worked as the
cable network's military affairs reporter where he covered the first
Gulf War in Kuwait. In 1992, Blitzer became CNN's
White House correspondent, a position he would hold until 1999. During that period, he earned an
Emmy Award for his coverage of the 1995
Oklahoma City bombing. In 1998, he began hosting the CNN Sunday morning interview program
Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer, which was seen in over 180 countries. Blitzer's first assignment as an anchor was on the daily newscast
The World Today, in 1999. In 2000, he started anchoring his own show,
Wolf Blitzer Reports, which ran until 2005. CNN selected Blitzer to anchor their coverage of all U.S. presidential elections since 2004. Since August 8, 2005, Blitzer has hosted
The Situation Room, a two-hour afternoon/early evening program on CNN. In 2013, he began anchoring the 1pm ET hour of
CNN Newsroom; in 2014, the program was renamed to
Wolf.
Wolf ended in 2018 and was replaced by
CNN Right Now, hosted by
Brianna Keilar. In January 2021, CNN announced programming changes, shortening
The Situation Room to one hour (6–7 p.m. (ET)) beginning April 26, and expanding
Jake Tapper's role at the network to become Lead Washington anchor and expanded his show
The Lead with Jake Tapper to 4–6 p.m. (ET). Blitzer will remain hosting documentaries and serving "as principal anchor for all major breaking news." In 2022, he hosted
The Newscast with Wolf Blitzer on CNN's short-lived streaming service,
CNN+ from its late March launch to its late April end. In January 2025, it was announced that
The Situation Room would move from its afternoon time slot and air in the mornings from 10 a.m. to noon EST in March 2025, with
Pamela Brown also serving as Blitzer's co-anchor when the time slot switch takes. The changes to the Situation Room would officially go into effect in March. On April 25, 2026, Blitzer was present during the
White House Correspondents' Dinner shooting at the
Washington Hilton hotel in Washington, D.C. He said that he was near the suspect and heard several gunshots. Cops got on top of Blitzer for protection and took him to a secure room. He called it "a frightening experience", but said that he was "fine". He also went live on CNN to talk about what happened. ==Awards==