israeli politics

Thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews protest businesses that operate on Saturdays , the Jewish day of rest, Jerusalem, June 29, 2017. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Ultra-Orthodox anger over Western Wall deal isn’t about American Jews

The Israeli government’s decision to abandon a deal creating an egalitarian prayer space at the Western Wall led to an unprecedented rift with Diaspora Jewry. But American Jews, and the Reform Movement in particular, are merely collateral damage — caught in the crossfire of an internal ultra-Orthodox power struggle. By Eli Bitan With all the…

By +972 Magazine July 6, 2017

A man walks along Israel’s separation wall where it snakes through the Palestinian city of Bethlehem, August 15, 2015. (Micah Bond/Flash90)

The annexation of Palestine could be closer than you think

A perfect storm of domestic Israeli politics combined with the changing of the guard in Washington could create an opportunity for those advocating annexation to finally make their move. Senior Israeli government minister Naftali Bennett announced on Sunday that he will introduce legislation to effectively annex Israel’s third-largest settlement in the West Bank, Ma’ale Adumim,…

By Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man January 1, 2017

Labor chairman Isaac Herzog (Photo by Activestills.org)

We need a center-left political alternative in Israel

This is not a time for ideological purity. There is an overriding goal and that is ending the Occupation. By Jeremiah Haber Since the election of Ehud Barak as prime minister in 1999, if not earlier, there has been no center-left in Israel. Of course, there has been something referred to as “center-left” but that…

By +972 Magazine January 25, 2016

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U.S. President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu at their joint press conference in Jerusalem (photo: Koby Gidon / Government Press Office)

Netanyahu vs. Iran: The political scoreboard

Netanyahu put Iran at the top of his political agenda. He was able to push the international community into action but found himself sidelined when it counted. He got the opposition to back him in trashing the deal, but never got the security establishment on board with a military option. The nuclear deal signed with…

By Noam Sheizaf July 14, 2015

Speaker Boehner holds a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Congressional leaders following his address to a joint meeting of Congress. May 24, 2011. (Speaker Boehner / CC-BY NY 2.0)

Netanyahu’s hypocrisy about intervening in other countries’ affairs

What would happen if a foreign country started lobbying for bills in the Israeli Knesset, going so far as to seek the insertion of specific clauses into them? The Right in Israel isn’t the biggest fan of foreign countries getting involved in its affairs. It’s true when it comes to the European Union providing shelter…

By Haggai Matar April 7, 2015

Israelis march during a protest calling for social justice, Hatikva neighborhood, south Tel Aviv, June 14, 2012. (photo: Activestills.org)

Stop blaming Mizrahim for everything wrong in Israel

Despite what many commentators would have you think, Israeli elections were not decided by racism among Israel’s Mizrahi population. By Leeor Ohayon Benjamin Netanyahu’s re-election is largely credited to votes from the Mizrahi periphery, but to credit the Mizrahi periphery alone would be naïve. The Likud party, after all, is an Ashkenazi one at heart,…

By +972 Magazine March 26, 2015

Protest against a Jewish Arab Wedding, Rishon Letzion, Israel, August 17, 2014. (Activestills.org)

Jewish nationalism and the new Palestinian politics in Israel

Although the occupation has been absent in these elections, nationalism has permeated the campaigns. The violence of 2014 and the Gaza war were a transformative moment for Palestinian citizens of Israel and the realization of their political power.

By Dimi Reider March 17, 2015

MK Ahmad Tibi on Channel 2's 'Kidon and Ben-Simon' (Screenshot)

What Jewish-Arab ‘progress’ looks like, and why it’s not enough

A new political show on Israel’s largest news channel has a 1:37 ratio of non-Jewish to Jewish guests. It should be no surprise that the normally soft-ball interviewers suddenly became hostile toward MK Ahmad Tibi. By Oren Persico / ‘The 7th Eye‘ Israel’s Channel 2 has a relatively new show titled “Kidon and Ben-Simon,” named after its…

By +972 Magazine February 10, 2015

The Knesset floor. (Photo: Itzik Edri/CC)

The agonies of being an Arab democrat in the Knesset

When establishing the Knesset’s Palestinian democratic party, the founders of Balad had to shift their discourse and terminology: from the liberation of Palestine and the establishment of one inclusive democratic state, to the reinvention of Israel as a democratic state, the party’s secretary general writes. But has such a shift paid off? By Awad Abdelfattah On…

By +972 Magazine June 29, 2014

Secretary of State John Kerry with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, September 15, 2013 (State Dept. Photo)

Netanyahu gains popularity as peace talks collapse

The prime minister’s personal popularity goes up, while the Likud and Habyait Hayehudi gain seven more seats between them if elections were tomorrow. The Left loses four seats. Coalition troubles aside, ‘peace’ remains electorally toxic. The biggest losers from the collapse of the peace talks are the pro-peace parties, a Haaretz weekend poll suggests –…

By Dimi Reider April 12, 2014

The end of the Sharon dynasty: 5 takeaways from Kadima primaries

Despite positioning itself as the opposition party, estimates are that the hawkish Mofaz will join Netanyahu’s government following the 2013 elections. Shaul Mofaz, 64, won the Kadima primaries decisively yesterday, beating Tzipi Livni 62%-38%. Livni chaired the party since the resignation of former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert over corruption allegations. Both candidates represent the Israeli security…

By Noam Sheizaf March 28, 2012

WATCH: +972 bloggers on revolutions and political impasse

+972 bloggers Joseph Dana, Aziz Abu Sarah, Noam Sheizaf and Lisa Goldman were recently hosted by Busboys and Poets in Washington, D.C., where they held a panel discussion on their work in a changing Middle East.

By +972 Magazine November 1, 2011