moshe yaalon

Incoming Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon meets with outgoing Defense Minister Ehud Barak's at his office in Tel Aviv, March 19 2013 after the new defence minister was sworn in last night. (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry/Flash90)

What Labor’s new leader must do to resuscitate the Left

Instead of creating an lifeboat for undesired political has-beens, new Labor leader Avi Gabbay should try to unite Israel’s center-left behind a defiant message in the face of an emboldened right-wing coalition. By Abe Silberstein There are more than enough reasons for Labor Party voters to be thoroughly skeptical of their recently-elected leader, Avi Gabbay. He…

By +972 Magazine August 24, 2017

Israeli soldier Elor Azaria in court to hear the verdict in his manslaughter trial for shooting an unarmed Palestinian attacker in the head, Janary 4, 2017. (Miriam Alster/FLASH90)

Elor Azaria and the army of the periphery

From the army’s perspective, Azaria’s guilty verdict ostensibly answers the critique that it is unable to deal with soldier violence against Palestinians — or that it doesn’t want to. But there is one reason and one reason only that the lowly soldier was indicted to begin with. An Israeli military court handed down a guilty…

By Edo Konrad January 4, 2017

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry greets Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif on March 20, 2015, in Lausanne, Switzerland, before their advisers resumed negotiations about the future of Iran's nuclear program. (State Department photo)

One year on: The Iran deal has fulfilled its promise

Despite what Israel’s prime minister may have you believe, the Iran nuclear deal has succeeded in doing exactly what it set out to do: significantly decreasing the threat of a nuclear-armed Islamic Republic. By Shemuel Meir The annual Herzliya Conference made headlines a few weeks back simply due to the fact that former Defense Minister Moshe…

By +972 Magazine July 9, 2016

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Moshe Ya’alon announces his resignation as Israel’s defense minister at IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv, May 20, 2016. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

Ya’alon is only the latest Israeli security official to back Iran deal

In declaring that there are no existential threats to Israel, the former defense minister joins a litany of current and former security officials who have spoken out in favor of the Iran nuclear deal. By Ali Gharib When world powers led by the United States signed a nuclear deal with Iran, American neoconservatives and other…

By +972 Magazine June 22, 2016

Fadi al Najjar, 24, in his destroyed home in the village of Khuza'a, eastern Gaza Strip, November 7, 2014. Six family members stay in the living room, which is the only room which was not destroyed. Fadi lost all his money and his animals, during the last Israeli assault. He is now contemplating on getting married and lives in the caravan which has been allocated to his father Adnan. Big holes in the walls have been barely covered by pieces of wood and plastic sheet. Many Palestinians in the Gaza Strip face hard living conditions following the seven-week Israeli offensive during which 2,131 Palestinians were killed, and an estimate of 18,000 housing units have been either destroyed or severely damaged, leaving more than 108,000 people homeless. (photo: Anne Paq/Activestills.org)

Liberman’s first task: End Gaza’s suffering

If Liberman truly wants to keep Israelis safe, he will to do whatever he can to ensure that Gaza’s residents can lead normal lives. By Noam Rabinovich What will Avigdor Liberman’s first week as defense minister look like? One might imagine he would begin by introducing himself to the staff, getting acquainted with the office,…

By +972 Magazine June 2, 2016

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (center) and Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman (left) at a ceremony to mark Yisrael Beitenu joining the coalition. (photo: Amos Ben Gershom/GPO)

Israelis are no longer buying what Netanyahu is selling

Never has a prime minister appointed a defense minister so far beyond the consensus. For the first time in a decade, it feels like fewer people truly buy into Bibi’s lies and theatrics. By Alon Mizrahi Throughout his years in the public spotlight, Netanyahu and his advisors have been successful at doing one thing: to…

By +972 Magazine May 30, 2016

Binyamin Netanyahu and Avigdor Lieberman thank their supporters at the Likud-Israel Beitenu headquarter, January 23 2013 (photo: Yotam Ronen / Activestills)

Avigdor Liberman’s new job: Control over four million Palestinians

Netanyahu may have found an opportunity to take revenge on the old IDF elites, but in doing so has put one of Israel’s most hawkish politicians in charge of the occupation. Avigdor Liberman’s appointment as defense minister is, in my eyes, one of Netanyahu’s most surprising moves (in fact, on Wednesday I argued that it…

By Noam Sheizaf May 19, 2016

Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon (Photo by Activestills.org)

If Israel’s generals are moral, let them prove it

Defense Minister Ya’alon has been heralded as the Left’s newest spokesperson after repeatedly speaking out against Israel’s political leadership. Let’s not forget that this is the same guy who called Breaking the Silence ‘traitors.’ After reserving a spot among the “left-wing pragmatists” for openly stating that executing a dying man, and especially while on camera,…

By Orly Noy May 17, 2016

An Israeli protester marches along Route 60 in the West Bank during a joint Palestinian-Israeli demonstration against the occupation. (photo: Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

What’s so threatening about human rights?

The Right doesn’t reject the concept of universal human rights because it threatens the Zionist project, they do so because it would mean seeing Palestinians as equals. By Dror Etkes There is a positive aspect to the continuing, orchestrated campaign by Israel’s right-wing government and its helpers against “leftist” organizations, which many seem not to…

By +972 Magazine April 10, 2016

Protesters demonstrate outside military court in solidarity with an Israeli soldier arrested for shooting an incapacitated Palestinian stabbing suspect in the head, March 29, 2016. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

What would we say about the Hebron shooter were he Ashkenazi?

The story of the Hebron shooting is a classic case of the lowly soldier syndrome — mostly Ashkenazi political leaders give the order, yet only those at the bottom of the ladder must pay the price. By Adi Mazor and Tom Mehager What is the difference between the Israeli soldier who shot 22-year-old Palestinian Abed…

By Haokets March 31, 2016

An IDF soldier is seen seconds before shooting a wounded Palestinian man in the head. (Screenshot/B’Tselem)

Israeli public opinion solidly backs Hebron soldier

Only one-fifth of Israelis say the prime minister, defense minister, and the IDF chief of staff did the right thing when they condemned the killing. Fully 68 percent believe otherwise. Based on the condemnations from top levels of the political and defense establishment, it appears that Israelis were actually disturbed by the video of an…

By Dahlia Scheindlin March 28, 2016

Israeli soldiers raid the West Bank city of Hebron on June 17, 2014, as the hunt for three Israeli teenagers believed kidnapped by militants entered its fifth day. Thousands of Israel troops engaged in the search for the youths. Overnight, the army turned its attention during the night to the northern West Bank city of Nablus and surrounding areas, arresting dozens of Palestinians. (Photo: Tess Scheflan/Activestills.org)

Nobody should be shocked at the Hebron execution

When Israeli leaders keep pushing the message that killing Palestinian attackers is a laudable act, is it any wonder that the shooters become our national heroes? WARNING: This post contains a highly graphic video and images. The actions of an Israeli soldier who executed a wounded Palestinian attacker in Hebron on Thursday have been condemned…

By Natasha Roth-Rowland March 26, 2016

A Palestinian man seen laying on the ground seconds after being shot in the by an IDF soldier. (YouTube screenshot)

Hebron shooting shows why Breaking the Silence is so crucial

Instead of calling Breaking the Silence ‘traitors,’ Israel’s defense minister should listen to what they have to say — just for once. Dear Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, How are your Purim celebrations going? Are you having fun? Did you dress up? Any chance you happened to watch the video shot in Hebron on Thursday? The…

By Orly Noy March 24, 2016