Israel

What did the Likud Government Expect? “Evangelical” is right there in their Name

“Trump Heights”: Illegal New Israeli Squatter Settlement on Occupied Syrian Golan Approved

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Israel’s government has formally greenlighted a new squatter settlement on the Syrian Golan Heights, to be named for US president Donald J. Trump. Israel has has militarily occupied much of the Golan Heights since 1967 and which it has illegally stolen from Syria. The United Nations Charter, to which Israel […]

Israel

New Crusades? Conflict over Jerusalem is Heating up between Turkey and the budding Israeli-Saudi Bloc

Ahmed al-Burai

( Middle East Monitor) – Back in 2017, two Israeli advisors to the Jerusalem Municipality, David Koren and Ben Avrahami, shared their concerns about Turkey’s increasingly visible role in the Holy City. These two figures oversee all of the municipality’s interactions with Muslims and Christians in Jerusalem. They are fully aware of the fine details […]

Israel

Understanding Israeli PM Netanyahu’s Political Survival

Al-Shabaka

By Nijmeh Ali | – Overview ( Al-Shabaka.org ) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dominated Israeli politics for nearly 25 years, first between 1996 and 1999 and then again since 2009. Winning a total of five elections, he has become the longest-serving prime minister in the country’s history and has laid the foundation […]

Featured

Lapid warns of “Civil War” as Netanyahu Accuses Courts of Conspiracy and Pledges to Steal 1/3 of Palestine

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Israel’s i24 reports that Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu addressed his Likud Party on Monday and said that he will move forward with the annexation of one third of the Palestinian West Bank in July “with wisdom” and with the “unity of all forces.” On Sunday, the Israeli courts began […]

Featured

Israel Teeters on Brink, as Protests erupt against Indicted Netanyahu forming Gov’t, and Supreme Court prepares to Rule on his Eligibility

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Thousands of Israelis gathered again at Rabin Square in Tel Aviv to protest the formation of a new national unity government by indicted prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his rival, Benny Gantz. The disciplined protesters maintained social distance from one another to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. Smaller […]

Corruption

Protesters slam ‘Crime Minister” Netanyahu’s Assault on Democracy in Israel, Praise Palestinian-Israeli Medics fighting Coronavirus

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Some two thousand demonstrators gathered in formation in Rabin Square on Sunday in Tel Aviv for a “black flag” protest against the “destruction of democracy” by indicted prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu. They carefully kept six feet apart and wore surgical masks imprinted with the slogan “Crime Minister.” So reports Omar […]

Authoritarianism

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

H. Scott Prosterman

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 […]