Israeli People & Politics
The Failed Concepts That Brought Israel to October 7 by Shany Mor, Mosaic, October 7, 2024
How four interlocking ways of thinking combined to leave the Jewish state at the mercy of its enemies.
Six Ways the Judicial Overhaul Is Not Over by Alex Lederman, Israel Policy Exchange, August 13, 2024
Video: Dr. Shai Agmon on the Strategic Failure of the Israeli (Relative) Right (Hebrew, כשלון אסטרטגיית המרכז היחסי, 19’38”), Molad Conference, August 2, 2024
Poll: Over half of Arab Israelis feel sense of ‘shared destiny’ with Jews by Gianluca Pacchiani Follow, The Times of Israel, June 19, 2024
Survey of Arab citizens also finds that over two thirds are in favor of an Arab party joining a future government coalition, and 40% say it doesn’t have to be a center-left one.
The Second Yom Kippur War by Daniel Gordis, Israel from the Inside, September 28, 2023
How we react to what happened on Monday in Tel Aviv will determine if we are worthy of the sacrifices made by those who fought in the first.
Dereliction of sacred duty, or a desperate act to save the country?—The raging debate about reservists refusing to serve by Daniel Gordis, Israel from the Inside, July 20, 2023
Miki Zohar and Itamar Ben-Gvir, neither known for subtlety, both stepped in it big time today with a video they posted. They’ve deleted the post, but we’re sharing it for you, with subtitles added.
With civil war dangerously close, seven leading Israeli activists and thinkers have an idea … by Daniel Gordis, Israel from the Inside, July 10, 2023
What happened to the “Constituent Assembly” the Declaration of Independence promised, and why some leading Israeli scholars believe that reviving it now is what the country needs to save itself.
On the need for pluralism and the dangers of demonization by Donniel Hartman and Yehuda Kurtzer, The Times of Israel, June 21, 2023
The pro-democracy protest movement must recognize that thoughtful, decent, and moral people can disagree on policies.
Why Israelis are so Happy at 75 by Jonah Cohen, Fathom, May 2023
“It’s over,” the protesters are saying — and they no longer mean just judicial reform by Daniel Gordis, Israel from the Inside, May 1, 2023
We may be on the verge of a sea-change; what it will be is far from clear.
Democracy Runs Deep in Israel, In Spite of the Protests by Dr. Einat Wilf, State of Tel Aviv, April 26, 2023
Israel’s Miraculous 75th Birthday by Arsen Ostrovsky, Newsweek, April 25, 2023
Israel’s Judicial Reckoning by Evelyn Gordon, Mosaic, March 6, 2023
Israel’s court is abnormally powerful and has caused half the nation to lose faith in its government. Reform will help, as long as it doesn’t cause the other half to do the same.
Why a Judicial Compromise is Important No Matter the Content by Michael J. Koplow, Israel Policy Forum, Koplow Column, March 9, 2023
Battle over High Court exposes frailty of Israel’s piecemeal system of government by Haviv Rettig Gur, The Times of Israel, January 11, 2023
The center-left’s fears are reasonable, the right’s arguments authentic; both sides should get past the current shrill debate and restructure a broken system of checks and balances
Israel’s Judicial Reform Will Strengthen Its Democracy by Avi Bell, Newsweek, January 9, 2023
The Jewish path back to Israeli democracy by Yossi Klein Halevi, The Times of Israel, January 5, 2023
I’ve been part of the Israeli story for too long to despair – sooner or later, this coalition of destruction will unravel
Eight Thoughts on Israel’s Political Crisis by Matti Friedman, Tablet, December 21, 2022
The rise of Middle Eastern culture in Israel is to be celebrated. The rise of Middle Eastern politics will make our fate identical to that of our neighbors.
3 myths behind the fight against changing the ‘Law of Return’ by Eugene Kontorovich, The Times of Israel, December 18, 2022
Letting in anyone with at least one Jewish grandparent no longer makes sense – and to say Israel may not amend this law is to say it cannot control its borders
Video: Israeli Elections Panel (1:19’), University of Washington Stroum Center for Jewish Studies – Israel Studies Program, December 1, 2022
“The Israel We Knew” is not gone… by Daniel Gordis, Israel from the Inside, November 7, 2022
But Israelis never wanted that “Israel we thought we knew”: An indirect reply to Thomas Friedman
The one where Yom Kippur escaped from synagogue… by Daniel Gordis, Israel from the Inside, October 9, 2022
The vibrant and pluralistic side of Israeli religious life that gets far too little press.
The Israeli Election Guide for the Perplexed, Part 1 by Vivian Bercovici, State of Tel Aviv, July 30, 2022
The Regional Visions of the New Prime Minister and the Old Prime Minister by Michael J. Koplow, Israel Policy Forum, Koplow Column, June 30, 2022
Beware false election narratives from both the left and right by David M. Weinberg, The Jerusalem Post, June 24, 2022
Israel continues to be a free, enlightened, creative and exciting place. Do not let radical electioneering disfigure that noble reality.Do not let radical electioneering disfigure a noble reality. Israel continues to be a free, enlightened, creative and exciting place.
Israeli-Arab MK Mansour Abbas is What Zionism Intended by Einat Wilf, State of Tel Aviv, June 17, 2022
The Coalition Politics of the Ideological Versus the Material by Michael J. Koplow, Israel Policy Forum, Koplow’s Column, May 12, 2022
Staring Into the [Mansour] Abbas Abyss by Michael J. Koplow, Israel Policy Forum, Koplow’s Column, May 12, 2022
Reports of the Israeli Coalition’s Death Are Greatly Exaggerated by Michael J. Koplow, Israel Policy Forum, Koplow Column, January 20, 2022
“The winter of ‘73” by Daniel Gordis, Israel from the Inside, December 20, 2021
A song … and the war that continues to haunt even today’s young Israelis.
The Consensus Coalition That Ranged Beyond The Consensus by Michael J. Koplow, Israel Policy Forum, Koplow Column, October 27, 2021
“You’re only here by mistake. Ben-Gurion should have thrown you all out.” by Daniel Gordis, Israel from the Inside, October 18, 2021
Prime Minister Bennett said yesterday, “We’re losing the country.”
Rating Bennett’s premiership after 100 days in power by David M. Weinberg, The Jerusalem Post, October 1, 2021
For the moment, the Bennett-Lapid government seems to answer the desire of many Israelis for leadership that is neither radical left nor radical right, neither anti-religious nor obnoxiously religious-coercive, neither feeble nor fierce. And it has six real achievements so far.
Might a gold medal not be his only legacy? by Daniel Gordis, Israel from the Inside, August 9, 2021
Artem Dolgopyat won Israel a Gold Medal, and in the process rekindled a long-simmering Israeli debate about what it means to be a Jew.
The Enjoyment of Being Outraged by Michael J. Koplow, Israel Policy Forum, Koplow Column, July 8, 2021
Israel’s Real Crisis Is Not About Politics by Michael J. Koplow, Israel Policy Forum, Koplow Column, May 6, 2021
Israel’s Fourth Election: The Longer View by Michel Gurfinkiel, First Things, April 20, 2021
Vaccination Miracle Brings Israel Back to Its Roots by Daniel Gordis, Bloomberg, January 1, 2021
How is it leading the world in Covid-19 inoculations? A shared history of fighting for survival.
Netanyahu’s two Israels by Yossi Klein Halevi, The Times of Israel, December 24, 2020
Are Israeli Arabs Finally Moderating? by Daniel Pipes, Washington Times, December 23, 2020
When Israel’s Arabs began to demand their own ‘normalization’ deal by Haviv Rettig Gur, The Times of Israel, October 30, 2020
#IsraeliJudaism: Portrait of a Cultural Revolution by Shmuel Rosner and Camil Fuchs
Mansour Abbas, who drew fire from his opposition colleagues for helping Likud overturn a Knesset vote last week, is a conservative Muslim urging ‘pragmatic’ Arab Israeli politics.
Popular Protests and Political Parties by Michael J. Koplow, Israel Policy Forum, Koplow Column, August 6, 2020
Video: Times of Israel Journalist Haviv Gur (1:03’51”), Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, July 22, 2020
Why Israel’s politicians shuttered the Knesset just when Israelis needed it most by Haviv Rettig Gur, The Times of Israel, March 19, 2020
And why neither Likud nor Blue and White can claim the moral high ground in an impasse that sees the president imploring the speaker to get MKs back to work and serving democracy
Jewsraelis by Evelyn Gordon, Commentary, January 2020 (Review of #IsraeliJudaism by Shmuel Rosner and Camil Fuchs)
Why do Likud voters support Netanyahu? Thank the Supreme Court by Evelyn Gordon, Jewish News Syndicate, January 8, 2020
Why the right lost Israel’s do-over election by Evelyn Gordon, Jewish News Syndicate, October 10, 2019
Israel’s close Netanyahu-Gantz vote is a victory for democracy by Yossi Klein Halevi, Los Angeles Times, September 18, 2019
The Chaos of Israeli Democracy: An Explainer by Paul Shindman, HonestReporting, September 12, 2019
Israel is neither Bibi nor the United States by Daniel Gordis, The Times of Israel, August 21, 2019
If you evaluate Israeli politics through the prism of American democracy, you will be disappointed (and embarrassed). You will also miss what Israel is all about
As the PA and Jordan foment riots, Israeli Arab imams preach peace by Evelyn Gordon, Jewish News Syndicate, August 14, 2019
Most Israeli Arabs shun violence. Indeed, just last month, defense officials reported that terrorist activity among Israeli Arabs—never high to begin with—has dropped sharply.
The opportunity presented by the Arab political crisis by Eyal Zisser, Israel Hayom, July 23, 2019
Zionist parties must return to the Arab street and incorporate Arabs in their Knesset lists, not just to earn their votes come Election Day but to make them legitimate and long-term political partners.
A case study in why Israel’s democracy is alive and well by Evelyn Gordon, Jewish News Syndicate, July 17, 2019
The true measure of whether a democracy is functioning properly isn’t whether problems exist; they always will. Rather, it’s whether democracy’s self-correcting mechanisms are working effectively to mitigate those problems.
Betting on Avigdor Liberman by Evan Gottesman, Israel Policy Forum, Israel Policy Exchange, June 20, 2019
Israel’s drive for legal reform won’t disappear when Netanyahu does by Evelyn Gordon, Jewish News Syndicate, June 5, 2019
Too many legislators and voters have seen policies they cared about nixed merely because unelected justices or an unelected attorney general decided to substitute their own policy judgments for those of the elected government.
If You Like Israeli Elections, It’s Your Lucky Day by Michael J. Koplow, Israel Policy Forum, Koplow Column, May 30, 2019
Best of Both Worlds for Netanyahu? by Seth Frantzman, The Jerusalem Post, May 30, 2019
Israel’s New Election Is an Opportunity for Its Arabs by Daniel Gordis, Bloomberg, May 30, 2019
The idea of Netanyahu forming a coalition with Arab parties was a joke this week in the Knesset. What if it wasn’t?
No Illusions, No Despair by David M. Weinberg, The Jerusalem Post, May 23, 2019
A new national security plan says avoid risky diplomatic escapades and prepare for war.
No, Israel isn’t a country of privileged and powerful white Europeans by Hen Mazzig, The Los Angeles Times, May 20, 2019
From Ben-Gurion to Netanyahu: The Evolution of Israel’s National Security Strategy by Jacob Nagel and Jonathan Schanzer, Foundation for Defen
se of Democracy, May 13, 2019
Should Bereaved Israelis and Palestinians Grieve Together? by Michael J. Koplow, Israel Policy Forum, Koplow Column, May 9, 2019
How to destroy Jewish and democratic values in one easy step by Evelyn Gordon, Jewish News Syndicate, April 10, 2019
The problem isn’t racism, it’s the electoral system by Evelyn Gordon, Jewish News Syndicate, March 13, 2019
Many Israelis are willing to tolerate a racist party in the Knesset because they fear that the alternative is a government that will make life-threatening territorial concessions. And when voters think human life is at stake, telling them to “just say no” won’t work.
Netanyahu Is Now Attacking His Own Democracy by Daniel Gordis, Bloomberg, March 13, 2019
Faced with the possibility of losing his post, Israel’s prime minister makes stunning claims.
Netanyahu Already Won by Rabbi Kaufman, We Are for Israel, March 6, 2019
Time for Netanyahu to Go by Bret Stephens, The New York Times, March 1, 2019
The Party of Israel’s Past Languishes Without a Vision for the Future by Daniel Gordis, Bloomberg, January 24, 2019
Netanyahu isn’t loved, but his opposition hasn’t presented a strong alternative.
Everybody loses from the left’s false narrative about Netanyahu by Evelyn Gordon, Jewish News Syndicate, January 16, 2019
Separating the Wheat from the Chaff of Israeli Election Politics by Michael J. Koplow, Israel Policy Forum, Koplow Column, January 3, 2019
If this week is indicative of what is to come, Israeli politics will remain the world’s best reality show.
Israel’s Political Balagan by Michael J. Koplow, Israel Policy Forum, Koplow Column, November 15, 2018
While Israel is accustomed to political upheaval, this week was unusual even by Israeli standards. It began with a botched operation in Gaza and with southern Israel blanketed with Hamas rockets, continued with an unusual Jerusalem mayoral election, and culminated with Avigdor Lieberman’s resignation as defense minister and the unofficial kickoff of the next Knesset election campaign. While not all of these events are directly related, they are linked in that they will all determine to a large degree the composition and direction of the next government.
Now it’s our turn to save Israel by Daniel Gordis, The Jerusalem Post, August 23, 2018
Like most of our immigrant friends, we have not a shred of regret about having come. It was the best decision we made in our entire lives.
Israeli Arabs and Jews Drive Past Another Turning Point by Daniel Gordis, Bloomberg View, August 20, 2018
An opportunity to come together to protest the controversial nation-state law dissolves into ugly Palestinian chants.
The Nation-State Law and Israel’s Challenge by Daniel Gordis, The Jerusalem Post, August 10, 2018
Israel’s New Right-Left Divide by Michael J. Koplow, Israel Policy Forum, Koplow Column, August 9, 2018
Hold the heated rhetoric, please by David M. Weinberg, The Jerusalem Post, August 3, 2018
Everything You’ve Heard about Israel’s Nation State Bill Is Wrong by David Hazony, The Forward, July 23, 2018 (see also The Nation State Law and its Detractors by Rabbi Phil Cohen, We Are For Israel, July 23, 2018)
Thursday the rabbis defied the spirit of Judaism by David Horovitz, The Times of Israel, July 18, 2018 (see also Soul-Searching After a Rabbi Was Detained in Israel by Daniel Gordis, Bloomberg View, July 23, 2018)
For decades, Israel wisely managed to reconcile democratic principles with respect for the faith that sustained Jews in exile. A rabbi’s detention shows that wisdom is ebbing away
Israel proves exceptional, once again by Evelyn Gordon, Jewish News Syndicate, April 11, 2018
The very existence of a Jewish state, whatever its flaws, is grounds for rejoicing.
Celebrating the argument by Einat Wilf with Shany Mor, Fathom, March 2018
What Just Happened With Israel’s Elections Crisis? by Michael J. Koplow, Israel Policy Forum, Koplow Column, March 15, 2018
Don’t Count Bibi Out — Yet by Bret Stephens, The New York Times, February 23, 2018
Netanyahu’s foreign critics are demanding that he replicate on a large scale [in the West Bank] what has failed catastrophically on a smaller scale [in Gaza].
The Demand for Sovereignty Over Judea and Samaria Is a Waste of Zionist Energy by Efraim Inbar, Jewish News Service, February 20, 2018
Invoking Rabin, Labor’s Gabbay says he’s the decisive leader Israel needs as PM by David Horovitz, The Times of Israel, December 27, 2017
Netanyahu’s challenger says 10 years of playing the blame game with Abbas hasn’t helped anybody, Israel mustn’t alienate US Democrats, and the tide of corruption starts at the top
Israeli Arabs’ Growing Israeli Identity by Evelyn Gordon, Commentary, October 17, 2017
Court Forces Israel to Face Its Ultra-Orthodox Problem by Daniel Gordis, Bloomberg, September 14, 2017
Minorities by Ira Sharkansky, The Jerusalem Post, August 3, 2017
What the Labor Party Primary Says about Israel’s Consensus by Evelyn Gordon, Commentary, July 14, 2017
Pass the nation-state bill by David M. Weinberg, Israel Hayom, May 12, 2017 (see also Full text of MK Avi Dichter’s 2017 ‘Jewish State’ bill by Raoul Wootliff, The Times of Israel, May 10, 2017)
Bill would reject all conversions in Israel but those performed by Chief Rabbinate, JTA, May 11, 2017
Only those who have been converted by the Reform and Conservative movement abroad are recognized now as Jewish for the purpose of immigration to Israel.
Israeli democracy is not at risk by David M. Weinberg, The Jerusalem Post, February 2, 2017
The Left That Cried Wolf by Evelyn Gordon, Commentary, November 6, 2016
The Obligations of States and Citizens by Michael J. Koplow, Israel Policy Forum, Koplow Column, October 6, 2016
Burkini Bans and Jewish Democracy by Evelyn Gordon, Commentary, August 29, 2016
Israel’s Culture War Is Getting Ugly by Daniel Gordis, Bloomberg View, July 26, 2016
An Institutional Explanation for Political Cynicism: On the Recent Changes in Coalition in Israel by Reut Itzkovitch-Malka, Israel Policy Forum/Matzav Blog, June 21, 2016
The Israel Narrative Is Wrong by Evelyn Gordon, Commentary, June 20, 2016
The Return of Bernard Lewis by Martin Kramer, Mosaic, June 1, 2016
Forty years ago, nobody foresaw the rise of radical Islam—except for the preeminent historian who both predicted and explained it, and much else besides
Israel’s Socialist Dreams vs. Capitalist Realities by Steven Plaut, Middle East Quarterly, Summer 2016
What Israel’s New Coalition Means by Jonathan S. Tobin, Commentary, May 18, 2016
Israel’s Hottest TV Show Is All Black Hats and Beards by Liel Leibovitz, Tablet, February 26, 2016
Two seasons in, Israeli TV drama ‘Shtisel’ offers fervently Orthodox viewers a cathartic glimpse into their own community
The Sad State of the Two State Debate by Rabbi Kaufman, We Are for Israel, January 20, 2016
Where You Stand Depends On Where You Sit by Michael J. Koplow, Israel Policy Forum, January 7, 2016
All Politics Is Local, U.S. Visit Edition by Michael J. Koplow, Israel Policy Forum, December 17, 2015
It’s a Happy Israel, After All by Aaron David Miller, Foreign Policy, June 10, 2015
Israel’s President Sings a Different Tune by Daniel Gordis, Bloomberg View, May 31, 2015
Israeli Voters Reacted to the Threats They Face by Jonathan Schanzer, The New York Times, May 8, 2015
Israeli Arabs press their MKs to focus more on domestic issues by Evelyn Gordon, The Jerusalem Post, April 28, 2015
Reform and Conservative Judaism Have Failed in Israel. And It’s Their Own Fault by Liam Hoare, The Tower Issue 24, March 2015
Israel’s Left-Wing Right Wing by Evelyn Gordon, Commentary, March 2015
The Role of the Palestinian Authority in Israel’s Election Results by Alan M. Dershowitz, Gatestone Institute, March 18, 2015
The Half-Full Cup of Jewish-Arab Relations by Evelyn C. Gordon, Commentary, March 14, 2015
Pushing a false choice between Jewish and democratic by Evelyn Gordon, The Jerusalem Post, January 12, 2015
65 Percent of Israeli Arabs Say They’re Proud to Be Israeli by Evelyn Gordon, Commentary, January 8, 2015
Haredim and the State: A Possible Turning Point by Isi Leibler, Candidly Speaking from Jerusalem, January 6, 2015
Armed and Ready for Synagogue in Israel by Daniel Gordis, Bloomberg View, December 17, 2014
Netanyahu Loses His Grip by Daniel Gordis, Bloomberg View, December 3, 2014
A war for the soul of Israel’s Arab community by Evelyn Gordon, Jerusalem Post, November 23, 2014
The One-State Reality by David Remnick, The New Yorker, November 17, 2014
The high poverty rate and other Israeli myths by Evelyn Gordon, Jerusalem Post, November 3, 2014
Israel’s Overdue Reckoning With Its Arab Citizens by Daniel Gordis, Bloomberg View, October 28, 2014
Using a Double Standard on Hate Crimes to Bash Israel by Evelyn Gordon, Commentary, October 8, 2014
The new politics of Israel’s ‘Minister of Facebook Affairs’ by Mazal Mualem, Al-Monitor, September 23, 2014
Stuck in the ‘90s: Israel’s peace camp is losing public interest by Mazal Mualem, Al-Monitor, August 18, 2014
When the Guns Fall Silent by Daniel Gordis, Jerusalem Post, August 1, 2014
Because They Were Jews by Daniel Gordis, New York Daily News, July 3, 2014 (on the murder of Eyal Yifrach, Gilad Shaer, and Naftali Frenkel)
Inching Back Toward Tradition by Gary Rosenblatt, Jewish Week, June 18, 2014
It’s about Israelis becoming Jewish, not the secular becoming religious.
The Myth of Ethnic Inequality in Israel by Steven Plaut, Middle East Quarterly, Summer 2014
#BringBackOurConscience by Daniel Gordis, Jerusalem Post, May 15, 2014
The quiet rise of the Israeli center by Yossi Klein Halevi, Times of Israel, March 23, 2014
What lies behind ultra-Orthodox embrace of Labor leader? By Mazal Mualem, Al-Monitor Israel Pulse, March 12, 2014
Putting All Israelis to Work by Naftali Bennett, New York Times, February 20, 2014
Israel at a Point of No Return – In the Right Direction by David P. Goldman, PJ Media, February 12, 2014
Looking for the center by Ira Sharkansky, Jerusalem Post, February 2, 2014
The peace process and the fear factor by Barry Shaw, The View from Israel, February 2, 2014
The Impatient Israeli Political Left by David M. Weinberg, Israel Hayom, January 28, 2014
Leap of Faith: Israel’s National Religious and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, International Crisis Group, Middle East Report N°147, November 21 2013
How Israeli society remained intact by Yossi Klein Halevi, Times of Israel, October 22, 2013
Israel’s Next Best Thing? It’s Bibi by Ben Caspit, Al-Monitor Israel Pulse, October 22, 2013
Time Favors Israel: The Resilient Jewish State by Efraim Inbar, Middle East Quarterly, Fall 2013
Can the Israeli Center Hold?, by Justin Finkelstein, Foreign Policy Research Institute, FPRI E-Notes, August 2013
The Right Moment for Israel’s Danny Danon? by Daniel Pipes, The Washington Times, August 5, 2013
Still Playing by the Rules: The Index of Arab-Jewish Relations in Israel 2012 by Sammy Smooha, The Israel Democracy Institute/University of Haifa, 2013 [pdf] [See also analysis, Poll: Majority of Israeli Arabs Support Another Intifada by Gil Ronen, Israel and Stuff, June 25, 2013]
Time to Change the Israel Conversation by Daniel Gordis, Jerusalem Post, June 21, 2013
In 1762, more than a century before Theodor Herzl launched political Zionism, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, writing in Emile, said, “I shall never believe I have heard the arguments of the Jews until they have a free state, schools and universities, where they can speak and dispute without risk. Only then will we know what they have to say.” Today, we have a free state. We have schools and universities. But we’re not having the conversation that Rousseau imagined we would.
Even Israel’s Far Left Thinks EU-Kerry Approach Is Wrong by Evelyn Gordon, Commentary, June 15, 2013
How to be an optimist in the Middle East by Tal Becker, Jerusalem Post, May 30, 2013
Diversity Makes Life Rich: An Ordinary Day in Israel by Diana Bletter, Huffington Post, May 20, 2013
The Courage to Serve: A Chareidi Woman in the IDF by Fayga Marks, Jewish Action, March 4, 2013
Israel’s Arabs: Deprived or Radicalized? by Efraim Karsh, Israel Affairs, January 2013
Stand Tall: We’re Winning, Not Losing by Alon Pinkas, Israel Policy Forum, August 30, 2012
Israel must punish rabbis who preach hatred by Anat Hoffman, JTA, August 27, 2012
The Fading Left and Israel’s Flourishing Democracy by Shmuel Sandler and Efraim Inbar, BESA Center Perspectives Paper, August 16, 2012
Healing Haredi work ethics by David M. Weinberg, Israel Hayom, August 12, 2012
The New York Times: Misreading Israeli Democracy by Daniel Gordis, Haaretz, July 26, 2012
A Dose of Nuance: Our hope (for what?) is not yet lost by Daniel Gordis, Jerusalem Post, May 17, 2012
Israel’s Arabs, Living a Paradox by Daniel Pipes, The Washington Times, March 22, 2012
No, Israel Isn’t Turning into an Iran-Style Theocracy by Gil Troy, The New Republic, February 2, 2012
Can the Center Hold? Understanding Israel’s Pragmatic Majority by Yossi Klein Halevi, Foreign Affairs, January/February 2012
Into the Fray: A nation betrayed? by Martin Sherman, Jerusalem Post, November 18, 2011
The list of the Left’s blunders is depressingly lengthy. It has been hopelessly wrong about… well, everything.
Decency Abhors A Vacuum by Daniel Gordis, Jerusalem Post, January 28, 2011
The Opposition We Really Need by Daniel Gordis, Jerusalem Post, January 14, 2011
Israel’s Evolving Security Concept by Meron Medzini, The Middle East Review of International Affairs at the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center, Interdisciplinary University, MERIA Journal Vol. 14, No. 4, December 2010
The undeniable Jewish state by Jeff Jacoby, Boston Globe, October 17, 2010
Ethiopian Israelis, the right of return, and accusations of racism by Adam Levick, CiF Watch, October 14, 2010
Many countries provide immigration privileges to individuals with ethnic/familial ties to these countries (so-called ”leges sanguinis”). As examples: Bulgaria, Belgium, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Poland, Romania, S. Korea, Spain, Turkey, and Ukraine, all have citizenship laws based partly or largely on this principle – that is, a Right of Return of sorts for people determined to share a preferred common national trait. Apart from France, ”jus sanguinis” still is the preferred means of passing on citizenship in many continental European countries, with benefits of maintaining national unity (while not in any way necessarily denying equal civil rights for minorities within the country who have citizenship, but who don’t share such traits). So, in fact, Israel is not at all unique in seeking to maintain a nation unified by a citizenry who share a similar historical memory and a common sense of political & moral destiny.
Israel as the Nation-State of the Jewish People: From the San Remo Conference (1920) to the Netanyahu-Abbas Talks by Joshua Teitelbaum, Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, Jerusalem Viewpoints No. 579, September-October 2010