Liberal Zionism

Finance Minister and Religious Zionist Party chairman Bezalel Smotrich tours the Mahane Yehuda Market as part of the party’s election campaign, in Jerusalem, October 9, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Why Smotrich still defines the horizon of Israeli politics

In the nine years since the MK’s ‘Decisive Plan,’ Israeli liberals acceded to the religious right’s maximalism — while claiming to oppose ‘messianic’ violence.

By Avi-ram Tzoreff October 20, 2026

Head of Ra'am Mansour Abbas holds a joint press conference with new party member Yoav Segalovich in Nazareth, August 31, 2026. (Michael Giladi/Flash90)

Budgets for submission: What Israel’s opposition offers Palestinian citizens

The terms of Arab participation in Israeli politics haven’t changed in 80 years. While the Joint List remains sidelined, Ra’am has taken the deal.

By Waseem Hosary September 21, 2026

Protest against the Israeli government’s plans for judicial overhaul, Washington Square Park, New York, April 2, 2023. (Gili Getz)

Why are American Jews so shocked by Israel’s far-right turn?

Israel's electorate is forcing U.S. Jews to grapple with the dissonance not only between liberal values and Zionism, but their understandings of Judaism itself.

By Shaul Magid April 25, 2023

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Hundreds of young Jews dance with Israeli flags as they march through the mixed town of Jaffa, in celebration of Jerusalem Day, May 29, 2022. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

Are liberal American Jews becoming afraid to talk about Israel?

Many Jews in the U.S. have grown uncomfortable voicing implausible defenses of Israel, yet cannot let go of their Zionism. Denial won't solve the dilemma.

By Shaul Magid November 10, 2022

Israelis hold flags and dance during the Flag March at Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's Old City, June 15, 2021. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

Liberal Zionism is dying. Will foregoing the Jewish state save it?

A new book calls for Zionism to be re-envisioned as a binational project in order to shed Jewish historical trauma and salvage democratic values.

By Shaul Magid August 10, 2021

Workers at the Ben & Jerry's factory near Kiryat Malakhi, southern Israel, July 21, 2021. (Flash90)

PODCAST: A little ice cream goes a long way

Editors Edo Konrad and Amjad Iraqi discuss the backlash against Ben & Jerry's and what the company's decision could mean for the BDS movement.

By Edo Konrad and Amjad Iraqi July 29, 2021

Palestinians working in Israel receive a COVID-19 vaccine, south of Tulkarm in the West Bank on March 8, 2021. (Nasser Ishtayeh/Flash90)

Why is The Forward afraid of criticizing Israel’s discriminatory vaccine policy?

American Jews must recognize that Israel’s refusal to vaccinate all Palestinians under its rule is part of a supremacist policy that goes beyond the occupation.

By Sari Bashi April 1, 2021

Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin speaking during a Paris press conference, July 7, 1994. (Saar Yaacov/GPO)

The myth of Rabin the peacemaker

The cult of personality around Yitzhak Rabin conceals the fact that the Oslo Accords were not derailed by his death, but achieved exactly what he wanted.

By Amjad Iraqi September 27, 2020

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, March 10, 2019. (nrkbeta(CC BY-SA 2.0)

As AOC cancels Rabin event, Palestine movement finds new clout in Washington

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's withdrawal from a memorial for Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin demonstrates the Palestinian rights movement's growing influence on the progressive left.

By Alex Kane September 26, 2020

Israelis take part in an annual 8-km march in the Jordan Valley, led by then-Interior Affairs Minister Gideon Saar. February 21, 2014. (Yonatan Sindel/FLASH90)

Liberal Zionism paved the Israeli right’s path to annexation

The world's frantic attempts to stop annexation remain stuck in the liberal Zionist fantasies that kept the occupation running smoothly for decades.

By Yousef Munayyer June 23, 2020

Outgoing IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz seen with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a ceremony held in honour of incoming IDF chief of staff Gadi Eizenkot (not seen) at a ceremony held in Eizenkot's honour at the PM's office in Jerusalem, on February 16, 2015. Photo by Miriam Alster/FLASH90 *** Local Caption *** ??? ?????? ?????? ??????

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In Israel, ‘politics as usual’ means escalating Palestinian oppression

Three trends from Israel’s do-over election demonstrate that the more Israeli politics stay the same, the more dangerous its policies become. There are many moments in Israeli-Palestinian history where landmark developments seem to change nothing and everything at the same time. Israel’s September election is one of them. While featuring many familiar and predictable patterns, the latest…

By Amjad Iraqi October 4, 2019

Thousands of Jewish wave the Israeli flags as they celebrate Jerusalem Day in Damascus Gate on their way to the Western Wall. Jerusalem Day celebrations, May 13, 2018. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The biggest loser in this election: Liberal Zionism

Israelis consistently vote against the idea of a Jewish and democratic Israel alongside a Palestinian state. It is now impossible to see how that could ever be realized. On Sunday Ayman Odeh, the chairman of the Joint List, met with President Reuven Rivlin to announce his party’s noteworthy decision to endorse Benny Gantz, chairman of…

By Mairav Zonszein September 26, 2019

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu celebrates his election victory, April 9, 2019. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

PODCAST: What just happened? A post-election debrief

Post-election Israel looks a lot like pre-election Israel, but a lot of progressives now have some painful questions to ask themselves. Lisa Goldman joins the podcast to talk about what comes next. Listen here: iTunes/Apple Podcasts | Google Play | Spotify Subscribe here: iTunes/Apple Podcasts | Google Play | Spotify A week after Netanyahu easily won another election, things don’t look all that different in…

By +972 Magazine April 18, 2019