Israel Update: Protests Pump the Brakes—for Now
Israel has slowed down, but it has not yet backed away from the brink.
29
Mar
15
Feb
Opinion | Friends of Israel, Be Very Afraid
Here is a tremendous clash of cultures, of contradicting Judaisms, finally out in the open.
14
Feb
Analysis | In the Streets for Democracy
Throngs protested in Jerusalem over government plans to radically change the judiciary and more.
28
Dec
Netanyahu Rolls Out His New Government; Jewish Americans React
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1. Rabbis are Speaking Out
In a midnight phone call to Israeli president Isaac Herzog, Benjamin Netanyahu formally informed him that he had succeeded in forming a new government based on a coalition made up of his own Likud party, two ultra-Orthodox parties and the Religious Zionist bloc—a joint list consisting of three far-right political parties. On Thursday, he will present his new government to the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, and upon approval, Netanyahu’s sixth government will be sworn in, heralding the most extreme ruling coalition in Israel’s history.
Bibi’s partners haven’t made this final stretch of negotiations any easier for him. As the presumptive prime minister made his rounds in the American media trying to convince an overseas audience that despite his seemingly far-right...
11
Nov
How to Move Forward After Trump’s Victory? Look to Israeli Elections
At least three times, I’ve taken a brief nap on an election night, relieved and reassured that the leader I believed in was about to be elected, only to be devastated as the sun came up.
30
Jan
Shmuel Rosner on Upcoming Israel Elections
Israel’s election season heated up this week as political parties rushed to submit their final list of candidates. Much is at stake: This time, unlike the elections of 2013, we don’t know who’s going to win. We ask Moment columnist Shmuel Rosner to outline a few possible scenarios and predict whether an ouster of Prime Minister Netanyahu is a real possibility.
Q. How are these elections different about the ones in 2013?
A. First of all, it’s an open election. We don’t know who’s going to win. Two years ago it was almost impossible for anyone to usurp Netanyahu and become prime minister. So the whole point of the election last cycle was to determine the kind of coalition Netanyahu was going to establish. This time it is not about the nature of the next Netanyahu coalition. It is about the question...
04
Jan
Israel Still Has the Power to Change
By Scott Fox
The beginning of 2012 means the nearing of elections in Israel and the United States. In both, incumbents have surprisingly maintained a strong likelihood of being re-elected in spite of failures and widespread criticism. While most polling shows Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney are trailing President Obama slightly, what is more surprising is that polls show that Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu’s Likud party would gain seats if an election were held today.
This affirmation is probably the reason Likud has moved up their primary for the next election to January 31 even though a general election does not need to be held until October 2013. Many suspect that a new election will be called during 2012 while Netanyahu still maintains this high level of support. An outside observer may find it strange that an incumbent...
02
Aug
A Golden Opportunity for Livni
By Niv Elis
It’s not clear why the Israeli left has shied away from putting economic arguments for peace front and center. But the recent explosion of economically driven populist angst may change all that.
For nearly two weeks, Israeli citizens have protested en masse in the streets of Tel Aviv, building tent cities along its main drag, Rothschild Boulevard, and across the country. Though popular disaffection with consumer prices, particularly housing, are at the heart of the the protests, growing economic inequality (persistent through strong general growth) and the neighboring protests of the Arab spring have fueled them. Because the protests represent a significant challenge for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his economic policies, they also provides an opportunity for the opposition leader, Tzipi Livni.
Sitting atop the largest party in the Knesset, which was thrust into...
03
Jun
Back to the Future: Obama's Peace Plan
by Amanda Walgrove
In 1967, the 25th amendment to the constitution was ratified, the U.S. was in the thick of the Vietnam War, Benjamin Netanyahu first joined the Israeli army and the Six-Day war ended with a U.N.-mediate ceasefire established between Syria and Israel. The year 1967 brought the release of The Doors' self-titled debut album, Elvis Presley's marriage to Priscilla Beaulieu, the inaugural Superbowl game on network television, and the birth of Julia Roberts. What a different world it was. Tweeting was still something that only birds could do and revolutions were not started on Facebook, because back then a facebook was a company photo album.
In late May, President Obama delivered a speech that sparked a wealth of controversy and a barrage of criticism after he insisted that Israel and Palestine return to their 1967...
03
Jun
Back to the Future: Obama’s Peace Plan
by Amanda Walgrove
In 1967, the 25th amendment to the constitution was ratified, the U.S. was in the thick of the Vietnam War, Benjamin Netanyahu first joined the Israeli army and the Six-Day war ended with a U.N.-mediate ceasefire established between Syria and Israel. The year 1967 brought the release of The Doors' self-titled debut album, Elvis Presley's marriage to Priscilla Beaulieu, the inaugural Superbowl game on network television, and the birth of Julia Roberts. What a different world it was. Tweeting was still something that only birds could do and revolutions were not started on Facebook, because back then a facebook was a company photo album.
In late May, President Obama delivered a speech that sparked a wealth of controversy and a barrage of criticism after he insisted that Israel and Palestine return to their 1967...