In 2002, Stephens moved to Israel to become the editor-in-chief of "The Jerusalem Post". He was 28 years old. "Haaretz" reported at the time that the appointment of Stephens, a non-Israeli, triggered some unease among senior "Jerusalem Post" management and staff. Stephens said that one of the reasons he left "The Wall Street Journal" for "The Jerusalem Post" was that he believed that Western media was getting Israel's story wrong. "I do not think Israel is the aggressor here", he said. "Insofar as getting the story right helps Israel, I guess you could say I'm trying to help Israel." Stephens led "The Jerusalem Post" during the worst years of the Palestinian campaign of suicide bombings against Israel and pointed the paper in a more neoconservative direction. In 2003, "The Jerusalem Post" named Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, an architect of the Iraq war, its Man of the Year. Stephens left "The Jerusalem Post" in 2004 and returned to "The Wall Street Journal". In 2006, he took over the "Journal"s "Global View" column after George Melloan's retirement.