By Mati Tuchfeld, Israel Hayom— The prolong electoral crisis is taking its toll on Israeli politics, as a recent poll shows that Likud and the right-wing bloc as a whole will face an uphill battle ahead of the March 2 elections. The 2020 election campaign was announced on midnight, Wednesday, as the 22nd Knesset dissolved…
By Melanie Phillips— Israel’s electoral stalemate surprised few and dismayed many. One development, however, got a number of people very excited indeed. This was the decision of three of the four parties in the Arabs’ Joint List to endorse as prime minister Benny Gantz, the head of the Blue and White party — only the…
By Lahav Harkov, JPost— Israeli democracy is in a state of emergency, and a government must be formed as soon as possible, President Reuven Rivlin said at the 22nd Knesset’s inaugural meeting, which was overshadowed by the political uncertainty on Thursday. Rivlin and Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein addressed the long period of political uncertainty, which…
By Brig.-Gen. (res.) Yossi Kuperwasser, JCPA— The discovery of Hizbullah’s invasion tunnels has removed a critical component of the organization’s and Iran’s plan for war against Israel, expected to break out at some time. The discovery robbed them of the ability to surprise Israel through an offensive (under)ground assault into Israeli territory, which was to…
By Tsvi Sadan, Israel Today— “I honor the right of every nation in this room to pursue its own customs, beliefs, and traditions. The United States will not tell you how to live or work or worship.” Trump is not my president. This is an important observation considering the gazillion non-Americans who think they have an…
By Natan Sharansky and Gil Troy, Mosaic— In its recently released survey comparing Jewish opinion in the U.S. and Israel, the American Jewish Committee (AJC) once again confirmed the growing gulf between the world’s two largest Jewish communities. In key areas ranging from politics to public prayer, from prime ministers to presidents, from peoplehood to…
By Caroline Glick, JPOST— On Thursday, less than 48 hours after US President Donald Trump completed his successful visit to Israel, his chief negotiator Jason Greenblatt was back in town. On Wednesday, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson set the tone for Greenblatt’s mission when he told reporters aboard Air Force One that during his visit,…
By Susan Michael, ICEJ— The Palestinian Liberation Organization Charter states that “Zionism is a colonialist movement in its inception.” This claim – echoed by many throughout the Middle East and beyond – asserts that Israel was founded illegally The truth is that Israel’s founding had a firm basis in international law – and thousands of…
By HERB KEINON, JPOST— No Israeli government official would dare say it, but a weakened EU is not necessarily a bad thing for Israel diplomatically. Economics might be another issue. The specter of the EU falling apart, and what kind of forces that will unleash, is also a separate matter. But on the very narrow…
By AFP, BREITBART— Jerusalem (AFP) – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looked set to form the “most right-wing” government in Israeli history on Thursday, with Avigdor Lieberman, a hardliner loathed by Palestinians, expected to join as defence minister. Netanyahu’s allies were set for fresh negotiations with representatives of Lieberman’s far-right Yisrael Beitenu party to try to…