the zionist camp

PM Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at a right-wing election rally in Rabin Square in Tel Aviv, March 15, 2015. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

Election preview: Netanyahu’s moment of truth

The Israeli prime minister called elections hoping to strengthen his coalition, but he underestimated the personal resentment many Israelis feel toward him. One shouldn’t, however, confuse the fierce competition for power with a battle over ideas: even if Labor wins, the end of the occupation is not around the corner. When Benjamin Netanyahu decided to…

By Noam Sheizaf March 16, 2015

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman (Photo by Yotam Ronen/Activestills.org)

What do you call a politician who promises more war?

Election season is a time when most people expect to be presented with a hopeful vision for the future. In Israel, every single leading political figure is promising more of the same. Israel’s election season officially went into full swing over the weekend as lists of candidates were finalized and the deadline for parties to…

By Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man February 1, 2015

Ksneia Svetlova (Photo by Yasmin Yaira)

Don’t call her the ‘Russian candidate’: Meet Ksenia Svetlova

An interview with the latest addition to Tzipi Livni’s ‘Zionist Camp,’ on the heavy price Israel will pay if it can’t solve the Palestinian conflict, how much Russian and Mizrahi immigrants have in common, and whether the Labor/Livni list will consider forming a new government with Netanyahu. In the Israeli electoral system, party heads often…

By Orly Noy January 29, 2015

Latest

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Photo by Activestills.org)

Devoid of issues, elections devolve into clash of personalities

Instead of discussing increasing violence against civilians, border skirmishes and the assassination of an Iranian general, Israeli politicians are busy putting out tasteless and tactless campaign videos attacking each other with name-calling. It’s not just the occupation and Israel’s violation of basic rights that are missing from this election season, but any reference at all…

By Mairav Zonszein January 27, 2015

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu addresses a joint session of the U.S. Congress, May 24, 2011. (Photo by Avi Ohayun/GPO)

The ‘anti-Zionist’ camp goes mainstream in Israeli elections

Both Netanyahu and Livni are leveraging their international influence for electoral gain: Netanyahu in Congress and Livni at the United Nations. And, will the real Zionist camp please stand up? Elections are almost always referendums on the incumbent, and an incumbent always has an advantage against any challengers. One of those advantages is the ability…

By Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man January 23, 2015

A Jewish settler attaches an Israeli flag to a tree in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, January 29, 2010 (Anne Paq/Activestills.org)

WATCH: What do Israelis think being a Zionist means?

In the run-up to general elections, the Labor party and Tzipi Livni’s ‘Hatnuah’ united to run on a joint list called ‘The Zionist Camp.’ But what does being a Zionist mean in today’s Israel? Social TV took to the streets to ask regular Israelis just what it means to them. Related: Election analysis: A shared…

By Social TV January 20, 2015

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (photo: Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

Election analysis: A shared Netanyahu-Herzog government?

Herzog and Bibi’s political interests and the fragmented Knesset that is likely to emerge after the elections might force Likud and Labor into a power-sharing deal. Avigdor Liberman and President Rivlin already support the idea. The Israeli Labor Party, which will participate in the upcoming election under the banner of “The Zionist Camp,” held its…

By Noam Sheizaf January 15, 2015