Gideon Sa'ar

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett at a press conference in Jerusalem, July 6, 2021. (Amit Shabi/POOL)

The Israeli right tried to manage the conflict. Bennett wants to ‘shrink’ it

The Bennett-Lapid coalition has no clear vision of what to do with the Palestinians — so it's trying a different strategy.

By Meron Rapoport August 12, 2021

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Joint List party chairman Ayman Odeh talk during a vote at the Knesset on November 18, 2015. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)

PODCAST: Why is Netanyahu suddenly courting Palestinian voters?

After years of inciting against Palestinian citizens of Israel, Bibi does an about-face. +972's Edo Konrad and Amjad Iraqi make sense of another election.

By Edo Konrad and Amjad Iraqi January 29, 2021

A woman casts her ballot in the Knesset elections at a voting station in Jerusalem, on March 2, 2020. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

‘I don’t know her’: How Israeli elections disregard women voters

By ignoring women's policy preferences, Israeli parties are not just deepening gender inequality — they're shifting the country further right.

By Noa Balf January 11, 2021

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A police water cannon douses protesters in central Jerusalem during clashes that followed a mass demonstration outside the Prime Minister's Residence, July 14, 2020. (Oren Ziv/Activestills)

The Balfour protests helped to topple Netanyahu. But at what cost?

Even if the next government is worse, the anti-Bibi protests show that when enough people mobilize around a single message, they have a chance to win.

By Meron Rapoport December 23, 2020

A Jewish Israeli man shouts at Palestinians while waving the Israeli flag in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem on Jerusalem Day, June 2, 2008. (Nati Shohat/Flash90)

Voting Netanyahu out is not going to ‘save’ Israel-Palestine

Israeli citizens are about to vote in national elections for the second time in six months. But has anything changed since April? Why is no one talking about the occupation? And are we really about to see the end of the Netanyahu era? +972 writers talk about why these elections matter. Israeli voters will head to the…

By Natasha Roth-Rowland September 15, 2019

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (Photo: Kobi Gideon / GPO)

What will Israeli politics after Netanyahu hold for the Palestinians?

Disrupting Israel’s insular political discourse will require fully activating the Palestinian leadership in Israel, grassroots and civil society organizations, and foreign governments and institutions. In August 2017, three thousand Israelis greeted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a rally in Tel Aviv organized by the Likud party. A few days earlier, media outlets reported that the…

By Amjad Iraqi March 16, 2018

Mizrahi activists protest outside Finance Minister Yair Lapid's house, north Tel Aviv. (photo: Yotam Ronen/Activestills.org)

Why Mizrahim don’t vote for the Left

It is no wonder that Mizrahim vote for right-wing parties when the Ashkenazi-dominated Left has done everything in its power to exclude them. Want things to change? Start talking about Ashkenazi privilege. By Tom Mehager Those who have, historically, voted for Israel’s left-wing camp are often nicknamed “the white tribe.” On the other hand, the…

By Haokets January 24, 2015

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announcing the cease fire between Israel and Hamas (photo: Koby Gidon/ Government Press Office)

Likud is no longer the largest party in the Knesset

Netanyahu now has the same number of seats as his main coalition partner, Yair Lapid. This leaves him at the mercy of his arch-rival, President Reuven Rivlin, if the coalition would need to be reshuffled without new elections being called. Up until mid last month, Netanyahu’s coalition enjoyed a reasonably obvious hierarchy. The Likud-Beitenu list…

By Dimi Reider August 10, 2014

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (Photo: Kobi Gideon / GPO)

Lame duck, not nuclear duck: Netanyahu’s staggering defeat

The slow crumbling of Netanyahu’s political prestige reached its nadir on Tuesday, when his own heir apparent Gideon Sa’ar turned against him to elevate arch-rival Reuven Rivlin to presidency. Reuven Rivlin’s victory in the presidential elections on Tuesday was a resounding one, but nowhere near as resonant as Benjamin Netanyahu’s defeat – a domestic political…

By Dimi Reider June 10, 2014

File photo of Interior Minister Gideon Sa'ar (Photo: Activestills.org)

WATCH: Confronting an Israeli minister for flouting int’l law

Sadiq al-Sadiq was returned to Israel earlier this month after finding himself being sent — against his will — back to Sudan, from where he fled persecution and genocide. Sadiq is just one of hundreds or thousands of Sudanese who have been pressured to leave Israel. Interior Minister Gideon Sa’ar, who is responsible for the…

By +972 Magazine May 19, 2014

African asylum seekers hold press conference in south Tel Aviv's Levinsky Park, where they announce that they will continue striking. (photo: Activestills.org)

African asylum seekers: We will continue to strike until demands are met

African asylum seekers held a press conference Tuesday in south Tel Aviv, where they announced that they will continue their “Strike For Freedom” until further notice. Representatives of the community from Sudan, Eritrea and Central African Republic spoke in both Hebrew and English about why they have been on strike and holding protests, and outlined…

By Mairav Zonszein January 7, 2014

African asylum seekers march to Canadian embassy, calling on the international community to support their struggle against Israel's asylum policies. (photo: Activestills.org)

Day 2 of African asylum seeker protest: What do they want?

African asylum seekers are holding their second of a three-day national protest. On Monday, thousands of asylum seekers, most of whom are employed by hotels and restaurants, went on strike and held large rallies in front of Western and African embassies. The protesters are calling on the international community to make sure Israel respects its commitments under…

By Noam Sheizaf January 6, 2014

An Israeli settler shouts at an African refugee during an anti-refugee demonstration in south Tel Aviv, December 31, 2012. (photo: Activestills)

A year in review: Anti-African racism and asylum seekers in Israel

While most Israelis were focused on the latest war on Gaza or the last election, verbal incitement, physical attacks, incarceration without trial and forced deportation of Africans continued unabated. A timeline of Israel’s war on African asylum-seekers between November 2012 and May 2013. By David Sheen Last Thursday, May 23, 2013, marked exactly one year to…

By +972 Magazine May 29, 2013