right-wing Israelis

File photo of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Education Minister Naftali Bennett. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The right keeps winning in Israel because Israelis are right wing

The political map in Israel hasn’t fundamentally changed since a decade ago, when left-wing voters migrated to the center and centrist voters moved right. The last week has seen feverish speculation about the possibility of early elections in Israel, primarily against the backdrop of infighting about how to handle Gaza. Defense Minister Liberman resigned and…

By Dahlia Scheindlin November 19, 2018

Israeli soldiers detain a Palestinian man following a house raid in the West Bank city of Hebron September 20, 2016. (Wisam Hashlamoun/Flash90)

Israel’s top court rules human rights aren’t ‘controversial.’ What about the occupation?

As the pro-peace camp has shrunk into oblivion, human rights groups have become the only real anti-occupation force in Israel today. That has made them uncomfortably political. Israel’s High Court of Justice on Wednesday ruled that equality and human rights are not, or should not be, controversial in Israel. “[It is difficult to accept] the…

By Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man September 14, 2017

A public reading of Breaking the Silence testimonies in Tel Aviv to mark 10 years since the organization was founded, June 6, 2014. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

Why do so many Israelis hate Breaking the Silence?

The organization of former Israeli soldiers is coming under attack from every direction these days — from the Israel’s president to the defense minister to the police. So what’s the deal? Breaking the Silence is a Jewish organization made up of former Israeli soldiers, most of whom served in combat roles. All they want to do…

By Haggai Matar December 14, 2015

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Joint List Chairman Ayman Odeh seen on election night, Nazareth, Israel, March 17, 2015. (photo: Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

Spitting in the face of Israel’s Arab citizens

The success of the Joint List is the Arab public’s message — an outstretched hand — to its Jewish compatriots, which is the antithesis of the message it received in return. By Haggai Matar and Yael Marom Nearly one quarter of Israeli voters cast their ballots for a prime minister whose central message to the public on election…

By Haggai Matar March 18, 2015