Blue and White

Leader of the Joint List, Ayman Odeh, leads the weekly party meeting at the Knesset, Jerusalem, October 12, 2015. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

Fool me once: Did the Joint List make a mistake backing Benny Gantz?

Grounded in Arab-Jewish partnership, the Joint List’s impact on Israeli society lies well beyond what the next government may look like.

By Dahlia Scheindlin March 27, 2020

Shas party chairman and Minsiter of Interior Affairs Aryeh Deri, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Blue and White leader Benny Gantz at a ceremony marking six years to the death of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, the late religious spiritual leader of Israel's Sephardic Jews, at the Knesset the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem on November 4, 2019. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)

Gantz chooses Netanyahu’s incitement over Arab-Jewish partnership

Benny Gantz could have made history by forming a minority government with the support of the Palestinian parties. Instead he dismantled his own political camp and joined his rival.

By Haggai Matar March 26, 2020

Then-Blue and White party chariman Benny Gantz meets with Joint List MKs Ayman Odeh and Ahmad Tibi to discuss the possibility of establishing a minority government backed by Israel's Palestinian-led parties, October 19, 2019. (Ofek Avshalom)

The anti-Bibi bloc is about to destroy its chance to replace Netanyahu

The anti-Bibi camp was just a heartbeat away from partnering with the Joint List and potentially transforming Israeli politics. So what happened?

By Edo Konrad March 10, 2020

Latest

Joint List chairperson Ayman Odeh waves the 'V' sign for victory during a plenum session in the assembly hall of the Israeli parliament, on November 13, 2017. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The Israeli right has no clue how to deal with the Joint List’s surge

The Joint List's remarkable campaign demonstrated Palestinian citizens' growing power. It could bring new political horizons — but also dangers.

By Meron Rapoport March 5, 2020

Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz seen during a visit in the settlement of Vered Yeriho, in the Jordan Valley, January 21, 2020. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)

Benny Gantz is taking Israel back to the future

Gantz has become the face of the Israeli center today: racist, militarist, and committed to the perpetual subjugation of Palestinians on both sides of the Green Line.

By Joshua Leifer February 20, 2020

Prime Minister Netanyahu attends a planting ceremony for the Jewish holiday of Tu B'Shevat in the West Bank settlement of Mevo'ot Yericho, February 10, 2020. (Haim Zach/GPO)

The empty promise of annexation

The 'Deal of the Century' was supposed to be Netanyahu's ticket to re-election and out of prison. That may no longer be enough.

By Meron Rapoport February 18, 2020

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at an 'emergency' Likud rally in Tel Aviv, November 17, 2019. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

By labeling Arabs an ‘existential threat,’ Bibi invokes a terrifying history of ethnic violence

Netanyahu organized an emergency Likud gathering Sunday night, in which he accused Israel's Palestinian citizens of supporting terror. We know how this kind of thing can end.

By Dahlia Scheindlin November 18, 2019

A Jewish Israeli man holding an Israeli flag confronts a Palestinian woman holding a kaffiyeh on the sidelines of the ultra-nationalist "Jerusalem Day" march, May 13, 2018. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Jewish-Arab partnership as an antidote to Jewish supremacism

We need to redefine Israeli politics. No more left and right, liberal or conservative, religious versus secular. Instead: a new partnership of Arabs and Jews, working side-by-side to combat Jewish supremacism. By Meron Rapoport and Ameer Fakhoury Israel has been at a political dead end for many months, particularly since the most recent national election…

By Meron Rapoport and Ameer Fakhoury October 30, 2019

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech at Likud headquarters on election night, Tel Aviv, September 17, 2019. (Gili Yaari/Flash90)

How Netanyahu mainstreamed his dark, anti-democratic vision for Israel

By attacking the judiciary, bringing extremists into his coalition, and trying to subvert voting rights, Benjamin Netanyahu has presented a dark vision of an anti-democratic future for Israeli politics. By Harry Reis Benjamin Netanyahu emerged from September’s repeat elections a failure. Denied his desired majority, the prime minister’s only real hope of retaining power now…

By +972 Magazine October 4, 2019

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in front of a picture of Vladimir Jabotinsky, Jerusalem, May 12, 2002. (Flash90)

Likud vs Likud: How Revisionist Zionism conquered Israeli politics

Israel’s elections have been billed as a clash of the titans between Netanyahu and Gantz. But no matter who wins, the real victory goes to Vladimir Jabotinsky, the grandfather of the Likud. In what should be regarded as a historic photograph taken last Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the head of the Likud party, and Benny…

By Amjad Iraqi September 26, 2019

Israelis protest against a joint Israeli-Palestinian memorial ceremony in Tel Aviv on April 17, 2018. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

Netanyahu might be on his way out, but Israelis remain firmly right wing

Voters might be weary of Netanyahu’s decade-long reign, but the numbers show that the vast majority of Israelis remain consistent in their voting habits. The cashier at an organic food shop in Tel Aviv was a burly man with a crew-cut. I asked if he had voted, but he didn’t understand the question. Then he explained in halting…

By Dahlia Scheindlin September 18, 2019

A giant portrait of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a protest against the Jewish Nation-State Law, Tel Aviv, July 30, 2018. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

The end of the Netanyahu era doesn’t mean the end of the occupation

If Netanyahu is replaced, things might actually get worse for Palestinians. As election results started pouring in Tuesday night, one could hear a sigh of relief – and even some cries of joy – among Israelis who identify with the center-left. According to near-final results, the right absorbed a serious blow. Its voter intimidation campaign failed to deter Palestinian…

By Haggai Matar September 18, 2019

Israeli citizens cast their ballots at a voting station in Jerusalem, during the Knesset elections on April 9, 2019. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)

Why Israelis are going to the polls for a second time this year

Five things you should know about the second Israeli national elections in six months. By +972 Magazine Staff How do Israeli elections work? Israel is a multi-party system, which means several parties will be competing for citizens’ votes come Election Day. There are 5.8 million Israeli citizens who are eligible to vote this time. Of the…

By +972 Magazine September 16, 2019