Israel

Viral Coups: Authoritarians like Trump and Israel’s Netanyahu see Coronavirus as Opportunity for Power Grab

Oakland, Ca. (Special to Informed Comment) – The United States and Israel may be considered “liberal democracies,” though the US is technically a “republic;” and Israel’s brand of democracy is qualified by its selective application of human rights. Both Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and President Donald Trump have ravaged traditional norms of government and social […]

Far Right

Israel’s Democracy at a Crossroads: Can Benny Gantz halt the Slide into Illiberalism?

The Conversation

By Eitan Tzelgov | – After Israel’s third election in a year in early March, parties opposing Benjamin Netanyahu – the Israeli prime minister known as Bibi – secured a small majority in parliament. In a blow to Netanyahu, on March 15 these parties informed the Israeli president, Reuven Rivlin, that his rival Benny Gantz […]

Featured

In Historic Breakthrough, Israel Considers admitting the Palestinian-Israelis to the Political Game (as Silent Partners)

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Josef Federman at AP reports that Israeli president Reuven Rivlin will offer Benny Gantz, the leader of the Blue and White Coalition, first crack at forming a government, sidelining indicted Likud leader Binyamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu faces a corruption trial, but it has been postponed to May because of the coronavirus […]

Epidemics

Netanyahu devastates Israeli Tourism with universal Quarantine to Avoid highlighting Trump Covid-19 Failures

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Trump administration has become well known for caring much more about how the coronavirus outbreak might make Trump look than about actually avoiding the pandemic. The Chinese quick quarantines last fall should have given the administration time to prepare, but its practical steps in mid-March of 2020 are still […]

Israel/ Palestine

Palestinian-Israelis, 20% of Israel, are next Victims of Kushner Apartheid

Middle East Monitor

By Adnan Abu Amer | @adnanabuamer1 | – (Middle East Monitor)- Israelis of all political persuasions welcomed the Trump “peace plan”, but the Palestinian citizens of the self-styled Jewish state are angry because the deal refers to land and population swaps between Israel and Palestinian Authority territory. This confirms that Israel wants to displace them, […]

Corporate Surveillance

Did Saudi prince Bin Salman personally Hack Jeff Bezos’s Phone, Vacuuming up Secrets? What about Jared Kushner?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Update 1/25/20: Subsequent reporting at WSJ and elsewhere has raised questions about how solid the conclusions were, of the cyber-security firm hired by Jeff Bezos, that pointed with certainty to a hack coming from the cell phone of Mohammed Bin Salman. We’ve long known that Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’s phone […]

Hamas

Israel: Turkey Coddles Hamas! Turkey: Israelis are Nazis! Bilateral Relations are Cratering

Middle East Monitor

By Dr Adnan Abu Amer | @adnanabuamer1 | – Turkish-Israeli relations are witnessing increasing tension in recent days, culminating in Tel Aviv accusing Ankara of giving way to Hamas to conduct its activities on its soil. Although the Turkish Foreign Ministry rejected the Israeli accusations, Israeli newspapers published articles and reports that criticised Turkish-Hamas relations. […]

Featured

Fossil Fuels cause Climate Crisis and Wars: Turkey forces Israeli Ship to leave research on Cyprus Undersea Gas

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Daily Sabah is reporting that a couple of weeks ago the Turkish navy made an Israeli research vessel leave the territorial waters off Turkish Cyprus. The island has been divided politically into a Greek-speaking Cyprus and a Turkish province since the 1974 Turkish invasion. Since 2011 there have been […]

Hizbullah

The Iraqi and Lebanese Popular uprisings Caught between Iranian and Israeli Geopolitics

Middle East Monitor

By Oraib Al-Rantawi | @OraibAlRantawi It is not only Iran that is paying close attention to the uprisings of the Iraqi and Lebanese people; Israel is also monitoring the situation closely, especially in Lebanon. It has also been involved in the Iraqi crisis recently and dealing direct blows to the Popular Mobilisation Forces and the […]