Israel

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Some 110,000 Israelis protested Saturday night at two big rallies in Tel Aviv. So reports Al Jazeera. The larger of the two was attended by opposition politicians Yair Lapid and Benny Gantz. Lapid told Israeli radio, “We will defend the nation and democracy. We will not surrender before we reach […]

Haredim

Israel’s new hard-line Government has made Headlines – the bigger demographic Changes that caused it, not so much

The Conversation

By Michael Brenner, American University | – Israel’s new goverment is the most right-wing and religious leadership the country has had in the 75 years of its existence, as many observers have pointed out. And this style of leadership may last because it represents the next generation of Israelis. You don’t have to look far […]

Israel

Israel’s Netanyahu facing off against the supreme Court and proposing to limit judicial Independence – and 3 other Threats to Israeli Democracy

The Conversation

By Boaz Atzili, American University School of International Service | – Democracy is not just about holding elections. It is a set of institutions, ideas and practices that allow citizens a continuous, decisive voice in shaping their government and its policies. The new Israeli government, headed by Benjamin Netanyahu and sworn in on Dec. 29, […]

Featured

Israel Plunged into Constitutional Crisis as Supreme Court Orders Corrupt Netanyahu Cabinet Minister to Step Down and He Refuses

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Israel has entered a profound constitutional crisis, after the country’s Supreme Court insisted that Shas Party leader Aryeh Makhlouf Deri, a Moroccan-Israeli, not be seated as a cabinet minister in the just-formed government of Binyamin Netanyahu because he committed crimes involving moral turpitude. Dubai-based al-Arabiyyah reports that Deri and Netanyahu […]

Donald Trump

Is Israel’s Netanyahu even worse than Trump?

H. Scott Prosterman

Oakland, Ca. (Special to Informed Comment) – The parallel trajectories of far-far right politicians accruing more power in the US and Israel is striking. Elements include similar motivations, policy actors, agenda and attempts to subvert democracy. But the dynamics differ with the roles of the two nations’ judicial systems. Far-far right wingers in Israel feel […]

Featured

Israeli Opposition Warns of “Civil War,” “End of Democracy” as 80,000 Rally against Netanyahu

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Palestinian newspaper Amad reports that tens of thousands of Israelis took part on Saturday evening in demonstrations in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa protesting the new Israeli government, headed by Binyamin Netanyahu. The Hebrew press reported a massive police presence at these sites. The Israeli center-right is finding out […]

Featured

Rabbi Close to Religious Extremists in Israeli Gov’t says Gay Speaker “Diseased,” attracting “Evil” on People

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Al-Hadath reports that 300 former Israeli soldiers have written a letter to their new government pleading with it not to inflict harm on the LGBTQ community. At the same time, two prominent rabbis close to the new government launched an attack on the Knesset members who voted in Amir Ohana, […]

Featured

2023 Prediction: The 2 Major Headaches for U.S. Foreign Policy, aside from Russia, will be Israeli and Iranian Fundamentalism

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Despite the desire of all recent presidents to pivot away from the Middle East, Israel, fundamentalism and Iran have made it difficult to do so. In 2023, I believe that the Biden administration will have to spend far more time on Iran and Israel-Palestine than it had imagined, despite the […]

Featured

Israelis react to Extremist new Government: “They have come to Destroy,” A Gov’t “Based on Hatred,” and “the End of Liberal Israeli Democracy”

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The new government in Israel has formally been voted in, with a 63-vote majority in the 120-seat Knesset or parliament. While the far right in Israel is ecstatic, even those a little closer to the center than the new extremists are full of trepidation. A former prime minister, Ehud Olmert, […]