David Kenner, Author at Institute of Current World Affairs

David Kenner is a reporter and the Middle East coordinator for the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. As an ICWA fellow (Saudi Arabia, 2019–2021), he was based in Riyadh and Beirut, reporting on political and economic upheaval in Lebanon and Saudi Arabia. Previously, he was Foreign Policy magazine’s Middle East bureau chief from 2013 to 2018, based in Beirut and Cairo and reporting regularly from Iraq, Jordan and Turkey. His work has been published in The Atlantic, Politico, Slate and elsewhere.

ICWA Dispatches by David Kenner

Exodus from Lebanon
As the country’s best and brightest flee, those who remain are finding it even more difficult to pick up the pieces.
The struggle to keep Lebanon healthy
Beirut’s largest public hospital long embodied all the country’s institutional failures. Now it’s leading the Covid-19 response.
Saudi Arabia’s coffee craze
Cafés are at the forefront of social change in the kingdom, but entrepreneurs still face big obstacles.
Beirut’s social fabric is tearing apart
Nearly three months after the port explosion, the fallout in one destroyed neighborhood reflects a country in collapse.
Saudi Arabia’s imagined worlds
Fiction has enabled authors to advance daring critiques of the kingdom’s social and political order.

Publications by David Kenner

Washington Post: David Kenner on Israeli-Arab military cooperation
"Arab states expanded cooperation with Israeli military during Gaza war, files show," by David Kenner (Saudi Arabia, 2019 – 2021), The Washington Post, October 11, 2025
ICIJ: David Kenner on spyware firm Intellexa
"‘Predator’ spyware firm Intellexa resurgent after US sanctions," by David Kenner (Saudi Arabia, 2019 – 2021), International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, August 12, 2025
ICIJ: David Kenner on the fall of a Pentagon contractor’s empire
"How a Pentagon contractor built a global empire—and a massive tax evasion scheme," by David Kenner (Saudi Arabia, 2019 - 2021), International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, May 23,...
ICIJ: David Kenner on Qatari royal investing in Newsmax
"Qatari royal invested about $50 million in pro-Trump network Newsmax," by David Kenner (Saudi Arabia, 2019 - 2021), Sarah Ellison and Jonathan O'Connell, International Consortium of Investigative Journalists,...
ICIJ: David Kenner on alleged Hamas financier
"Alleged Hamas financier holds stake in Cyprus company that mines Egyptian gold, leaked files reveal," by David Kenner (Saudi Arabia, 2019-2021), International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, December 20,...