im tirtzu

Right-wing Israeli activists march in support of Elior Azaria, the Israeli soldier who shot a Palestinian attacker, in Jerusalem, November 22, 2016. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

How the settlers took over Israel

Over the past 13 years the settler Right succeeded in establishing itself as a hegemonic force in Israeli politics, education, judiciary, culture, and society. If the Left has any chance of pushing back, instead of moderating itself it must radicalize. By Rami Kaplan A sense of doom has overcome the left-wing camp in Israel these days.…

By +972 Magazine November 2, 2018

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, June 1, 2011. (Dr. Avishai Teicher/CC 2.5)

Creeping censorship in a southern Israeli town

Verbal attacks by right-wing groups and politicians in Be’er Sheva are threatening both NGOs and the local university. By Daniel Beller Over the past year various entities, including right-wing movements, have been trying to close down a joint Jewish-Arab cultural institution in the southern Israeli town of Be’er Sheva. The Multaqa-Mifgash Center, founded by the…

By +972 Magazine May 31, 2017

A performer at the ‘Blacklist’ show of human rights and anti-occupation groups, Tel Aviv Port, February 5, 2016. (Courtesy photo)

‘Blacklisted’ human rights groups sing a defiant tune

Amid an unprecedented wave of delegitimization and attacks on human rights groups in Israel, dozens of organizations throw a mini-festival in Tel Aviv, sending a message that they will not be deterred. Over a thousand people joined dozens of human rights organizations in Tel Aviv’s port Friday afternoon in order to send a message that…

By Natasha Roth-Rowland February 5, 2016

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Right-wing activists from ‘Im Tirzu’ protest at the entrance to the Tel Aviv University, November 20, 2014. (photo: Shiraz Grinbaum/Activestills.org)

How Im Tirtzu dominates Israel’s public debate

While its campaign of intimidation against supposed left-wing Israeli artists seems to have backfired, Im Tirtzu’s role in Israel’s current political climate cannot be overstated. The political climate in Israel has become so draconian and repressive lately that it was slightly surprising how quickly everyone rushed to denounce Im Tirtzu’s latest campaign against mainstream artists and…

By Mairav Zonszein February 1, 2016

A pride flag at a protest against government incitement against Palestinians and the LGTBQ community in Israel, August 8, 2015, Tel Aviv. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

When homophobia becomes a tool for political persecution

The campaign against the Left in Israel reaches a new low: a planned protest at the wedding of an anti-occupation group’s director and her wife-to-be. It shows that when dissent is characterized as treason, there is no area of one’s life that is off-limits. It’s a clear sign of the times when protesting at someone’s wedding…

By Natasha Roth-Rowland January 25, 2016

Israeli army soldiers take part in the search operation for three kidnapped Israeli teenagers, on June 17, 2014 in the West Bank town of Hebron. [File photo by Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

There’s no such thing as a moral army

The furor surrounding Breaking the Silence and the reflexive defense of the IDF both miss the fundamental point that any institution with violence at its core is inherently ethically compromised, and ultimately, an army is trained to fight. A raw nerve has been touched in Israel over the last few weeks. Far right-wing group Im…

By Natasha Roth-Rowland December 24, 2015

An IDF soldier wearing sunglasses at a demonstration in the south Hebron Hills [file photo], (Ryan Rodrick Beiler / Activestills.org)

The soldiers’ stories that Israel lacks the courage to hear

Testimonies from former Israeli soldiers have failed to touch the Israeli public or change the state’s policies. The IDF gives an ‘explanation’ for why it ignores these and all other occupation stories told by the men and women of Breaking the Silence. I used to think that Breaking the Silence, which publishes testimonies of IDF soldiers…

By Larry Derfner June 11, 2013

Protest against the boycott Law, Tel Aviv, June 12 2011 (photo: Oren Ziv/activestills)

No, democracy isn’t the right of the majority to squelch dissent

By Naomi Paiss To some, the controversy over the firing of Adar Cohen, the Education Ministry bureaucrat in charge of civics education, may be no more than a footnote in the cultural and political wars roiling Israel. In my professional position, running communications for the New Israel Fund, I might agree. My job requires me…

By +972 Magazine August 22, 2012

Palestinian woman in Susya stands next to a tent that reads "No for demolition" (photo: Mya Guarnieri)

Is Israeli annexation of Area C of the West Bank imminent?

I started to think that a formal, unilateral annexation of Israeli-controlled Area C is imminent in May, when I saw this video (Hebrew) advocating the move. A public relations ploy designed to convince Israelis that annexing Area C is good for their future—and that giving the Palestinians who live in the area citizenship or residency won’t…

By Mya Guarnieri Jaradat July 26, 2012

Im Tirzu leader, Ronen Shoval (Photo: Yossi Gurvitz)

Ultra-nationalist leader invokes Assad’s victims to defend Israel

Im Tirtzu, the ultra-nationalist organization whose main activity has involved witch-hunt campaigns against Israeli civil society and academia, has hit upon a new angle that it believes will save Israel, which one of its leaders unveiled in an op ed in Haaretz on Monday (Hebrew): expose human rights violations in the Arab and Muslim world!…

By Dahlia Scheindlin March 21, 2012

Professor bullied for criticizing nationalist group Im Tirtzu

Im Tirtzu – the movement behind the ongoing intimidation of progressive lecturers in Israel provided us this week with a textbook example of political bullying, after taking offence at disparaging comments made in their address by Tel Aviv University’s Yehouda Shenhav. It should be noted the comments were made in the classroom and the video…

By Dimi Reider January 13, 2012

Im Tirtzu demonstrator, 9 December 2011 (Photo: Dahlia Scheindlin)

Following protest, bank freezes support for anti-democratic group

Im Tirtzu, the nasty little organization that has ushered in some of the more dangerous trends in Israel – policing academic thought, turning Zionism into a sort of raison d’état – has suffered a powerful blow issued with swift and impressive precision by an apparently lethal force: consumers. Bank Leumi, one of the country’s oldest…

By Dahlia Scheindlin December 11, 2011

Im Tirzu supporters trying to shout down a leftist demonstration (photo: Yossi Gurvitz)

Leaked BGU report: Part of broader assault on academic freedom

Read excerpts from the report obtained by +972 Magazine. The leaked report of a committee appointed by Israel’s Council for Higher Education (CHE), assessing Ben Gurion University’s Department of Politics and Government, is an anomaly compared to other reports, if not an outright, government-sponsored politicized mission against an academic department that has no precedent. I repeat…

By Dahlia Scheindlin November 26, 2011