Mizrahim

Beersheba (Special to Informed Comment; feature) – Amid the prevailing focus on the war and the geopolitical turmoil in the Middle East, it is easy to forget that it has not always been this way. Until the 1950s, Jewish communities had thrived in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. For centuries, Muslims, Jews, […]

Islam

Never Forget: Jews and Muslims have Often imagined themselves in History as Siblings and Allies

Anouar Majid

Excerpted from Tingis. Historically, and even theologically, Jews have always been closer to Muslims than they were to Christians. It was in Muslim lands, the late eminent historian Bernard Lewis told us, that Arabic “became the language of science and philosophy, of government and commerce, even the language of Jewish theology when such a discipline […]

Featured

Israelis Rally against Gov’t for 33rd Week, denouncing Branding Palestinian with Star of David and sending Women to back of Bus

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – For the 33rd week in a row, thousands of demonstrators came out Saturday night in Israel to protest the attempt of the extremist Netanyahu government to neuter the Supreme Court. According to Bar Peleg and Adi Hashmonai at Haaretz, the demonstrators are also driven by other issues. Some worry about […]

Haredim

Israeli Reservists’ Revolt against Netanyahu’s assault on Courts imperils Cohesion of Military

Middle East Monitor

Dr Adnan Abu Amer AdnanAbuAmer2 ( Middle East Monitor ) – As protests continue against the judicial overhaul proposed by the Israeli government, the leadership of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) fears an increase of discontent within its ranks as well as an increase in its lack of competence. The signs get worse every […]

Featured

Will the Triumph of the Messianic Israeli Far Right Destabilize the Country?

H. Scott Prosterman

Oakland, Ca. (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – The Israeli government voted this week to limit their Supreme Court’s ability to overturn unconstitutional laws after several months of debate. This elicited storm of global criticism, including from the American Jewish Committee (AJC), which said it is “gravely concerned” that this will further fracture Israel and American […]

Featured

The “Destruction of the Third Temple”? Israel’s Apocalyptic Civil War Weakens State, Military

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – On Friday, all hell broke loose in Israel, even more so than the recent norm. The Israeli newspaper Arab 48 reports that an earthquake struck the Israeli Air Force when 1,142 reservists published an open letter saying that they will be forced, with great regret, to resign their commissions if […]

Far Right

Israel Moves toward “Dictatorship” and Polarization, as one Likud Activist lauds the Targeting of Ashkenazi Jews in the Holocaust

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – On the eve of Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s controversial visit to the United States, which several members of Congress say they will boycott, Israeli society is coming apart at the seams. The presidency in Israel is a purely symbolic post. Power resides with the prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu and his […]

European Union

European Union cancels ‘Europe Day’ Diplomatic Reception to Avoid Extremist Racist Ben-Gvir, Israel’s Chosen Representative

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Le Monde reports that a European Union diplomatic delegation to Tel Aviv announced Monday that it was canceling the diplomatic reception for Europe Day there because the government of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu had selected far-right extremist Jewish Power leader Itamar Ben-Gvir to represent it. The site of the French […]

Haredim

Israel is a powder keg waiting to blow

The Conversation

By James Sunderland, University of Oxford | – The death in custody on May 2 of Khader Adnan, the first Palestinian to die of a hunger strike for more than 30 years, sparked mass protests in Gaza and an exchange of fire between Israel and armed Palestinian groups. It was later announced that a ceasefire […]